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European Lottery Foundation Scam

Sample Lottery Scam Email:
European Lottery Foundation
Passes Counterfeit Checks!

Here is a typical scam lottery winning notification.

Also see this page for a sample in the UK.

CFR received the following email on April 29, 2006,from a potential victim. The writer asks about the "European Lottery Foundation". Let's investigate....

April 29, 2006:

I received a letter from "European Lottery Foundation - France, China. The letter. The letter states that "From the European Lottery Foundation, in assistance with the Royal Columbia Board of Commissions TM, we happily announce to you that we have confirmed your won award of C220,000 at the France Payment Center!!!" The letter goes on to say "you muust contact the Foreign Operations Manager, Vincente Perez @ 1-800630-3351 ext 1.

Since that name wasn't on one of our fraud names lists, we went on to Google to see what we could find. Keep in mind that as soon as the scammers realize that we have published one of the fake names they are using, they just stop using it, and make up a new name. Once we unmask "European Lottery Foundation" they'll just start using "European Monarchies Lotteries" (we just made that up!) or whatever hits their fancy!

So, we entered "European Lottery Foundation" into Google, and within a few seconds, we saw:

Alert 2006-11 ALERT Subject: Counterfeit Cashier's Checks ...

... other persons have won a drawing sponsored by the European Lottery Foundation. The letter states that the "France government" is charging a notarization ...
www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/alert/2006-11.txt - 4k - Cached - Similar pages

Clicking on it, we then saw the fraud alert, issued by the U.S. Treasury Department (a fairly credible group in these matters) clearly stating the the "European Lottery Foundation" is a scam.

The fraud alert is copied below. It describes how they are passing fake checks, and also has contact information to report the scam if you are the victim or have been approached by these scammers:

O	ALERT 2006-11
	OCC ALERT
Comptroller of the Currency Administrator of National Banks
Subject:		Counterfeit Cashier's Checks	Description:	Mountain National Bank

TO: Chief Executive Officers of All National Banks; All State Banking Authorities; Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Director, Office of Thrift Supervision; Conference of State Bank Supervisors; Deputy Comptrollers (districts); Assistant Deputy Comptrollers; District Counsel; and All Examining Personnel

RE: Counterfeit Cashier's Checks of Mountain National Bank, Sevierville, TN

The above-named bank has reported that counterfeit cashier's checks, issued in the bank's name and using a correct routing number of 064208437, are being presented nationwide for payment in connection with a lottery scam. The counterfeit checks are mailed to potential victims with a letter notifying the recipient that he or she and two other persons have won a drawing sponsored by the European Lottery Foundation. The letter states that the "France government" is charging a notarization and stamp duty tax; therefore, an entity known as The Royal Columbia Board of Commissions is supposedly advancing part of the winnings in the form of a cashier's check from its U.S. bank to be deposited and then wired via Western Union to China.

While the counterfeit items have some resemblance to the authentic items, the counterfeit checks may be identified by the following: a standard check stock that is mint green in color with black print and a black logo. The instruments do not include a border, and the logo printed on the items differs slightly from the authentic logo of the bank. All of the counterfeit items presented to date contain one of three remitter names: William Collins, Robert Jennings, or Ronald Johnson. The checks may be dated 12/6/05 or 2/6/06.

Authentic cashier's checks issued by the bank are mint green in color and contain a dark green border. All printed information on authentic checks is green in color with the exception of the bank's logo, which is gold. The following statement appears below the payment amount line: "This document has a micro-print signature line and a watermark. Absence of these features will indicate a copy."

For additional information and guidance or to verify the authenticity of Mountain National Bank's cashier's checks, please contact Elaine Ely, Vice President, Bank Operations/Security, PO Box 6519, 300 E Main Street, Sevierville, TN 37864, by telephone at (865) 908-1630, by fax at (865) 428-9103, or via e-mail at [eely@bankmnb.com].

Additional information concerning this matter that you believe should be brought to the attention of the OCC may be forwarded to:

E-mail: occalertresponses@occ.treas.gov

Mail: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

Enforcement & Compliance Division, MS 8-10

250 E Street, SW, Washington, DC 20219

Fax: (202) 874-5301

Internet: http://www.occ.treas.gov

For additional information regarding other types of financial fraud, please visit the OCC's anti-fraud resource at: http://www.occ.treas.gov/fraudresources.htm.

Brian C. McCormally