Protect Yourself and Report the Latest Frauds, Scams, Spams, Fakes, Identify Theft Hacks and Hoaxes
There are affiliate links on this page.
Read our disclosure policy to learn more.
Have you received an email from "Carol Sweet" at "AUSTRALIAN LOTTO PROGRAMME, Sweepstakes International Program" telling you that "your email address won in the second category" or something similar, and to contact "Mr. Felix Hansel" to collect your winnings? "Felix" must be a slippery cat: he has 4 email addresses, all of them free, non-business accounts, including one from Russia, another in India, and oddly, none at what you would expect: "@AustralianLotto.com"
And can you imagine? They select "winners using their e-mail addresses form Some site."
How's that? "Form"? "Some site"?
By now we hope you realize that this is a scam from some uneducated scammer criminal in Nigeria No legitimate, legal lottery notifies winners vian email (see footnote)! The scammers may change the names and details, but it is still a scam!
Below is the example of the fake email scam (the email is the scam, not any persons or companies named in the email) claiming to be from the "AUSTRALIAN LOTTO PROGRAMME, Sweepstakes International Program".
Although the most important clue is that no legitimate lottery will ever email a winner, there are many other signs that this is a fraud. We have highlighted some of these in the email below, not the least of which are:
Email address ballot: There is no such thing as a "computer ballot system" or "computer email draw". No one, not even Microsoft has a database of email addresses of the type or magnitude they suggest.
"No tickets were sold": You care to explain where the money comes from? Perhaps the lottery money fairy? Why would a lottery give away money to "email address randomly selected by a computer ballot draw system"? This is CLEARLY nonsense: you MUST, repeat MUST buy a ticket to have a chance of winning any lottery!
Terrible spelling, punctuation, syntax and grammar - Scammers apparently don't know how to use spell checkers. We assume they dropped out of school before that class. They use almost excessive and random CapItaLiZAtion. Names are usually in all capital letters for some reason known only to these illiterate criminals. They often can't even spell "February" or know that "22th" ought to be "22nd". These scammers usually write at the 3rd grade level. Being non-native English speakers, they also often get first names and surnames (last names reversed), so you will frequently see names like "Mr. SMITH JAMES.", instead of "Mr. James Smith", along with the peculiar usage of periods (full stops) and spaces or the lack thereof. Real lotteries also proofread their emails and look and read more professional.
Using free email account: The scammer is writing to you from a FREE email account (Yahoo, Hotmail, Excite, AIM, Gmail, etc.). Don't you think a real organization would use it's own email, it's own domain and website?
Keep Confidential - Real lotteries THRIVE on publicity - they don't want you to keep anything secret - the publicity causes people to buy more tickets. there is NO risk of "double claiming" because they can validate where the ticket numbers were sold. The scammer want you to keep quiet because they don't want the police or ConsumerFraudreporting to hear about them! It should read: "For our own security, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential until we have finished scamming you!"
Email notification: NO REAL LOTTERY SENDS AN EMAIL TO NOTIFY WINNERS. Period. Full-stop. End of story. There mere fact ALONE that you received an email saying you won a lottery is proof that it is a scam.
Here is a typical scam lottery winning notification.
COOL STREET
PAULGREENVULLE Ax34587,
AUSTRALIA.
Ref: 435062725
Batch: 7050490902/189
Winning no: GB8101/LPRC
CONGRATULATIONS!!
Dear Sir/Madam,
We are delighted to inform you of your prize release on the 4th of April. 2008, from the Australian Lotto incorporated program. This is a bonus to promote lotto in Australia which is fully based on an electronic selection of winners using their e-mail addresses form Some site.
Your email address was attached to ticket number; 4700172507056490102 serial number 7741134002 This batch draws the lucky numbers as follows 5-13-33-37-42 bonus number17,which consequently won the lotto in the second category.
You here by have been approved a lump sum pay of US$750,000.00 (SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTHY THOUSAND
DOLLARS) in cash credit file ref: ILP/HW 47509/09 from the total cash prize shared amongst eight lucky winners in this category. All participant were selected through a computer balloting system drawn form Nine hundred thousand E-mail addresses from Canada,Australia,United States, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Oceania as part of our international promotions program which is conducted annually.
This Lotto was promoted and sponsored by a conglomerate of some multinational companies as part of their social responsibility to the citizens in the communities where they have operational base.
Further more your details (e-mail address) falls within our European representative office in Amsterdam, Holland, as indicated in your play coupon and your prize of US$750,000.00 will be released to you from this regional branch office in UNITED KINGDOM AND NIGERIA RESPECTIVELY. We hope with part of your prize, you will participate in our end of year high stakes for US$1.3 Billion international draw.
HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE: Simply contact our fiducially agent, Mr. Felix Hansel E-mail address:
Phone: +447045752535.
To file for your claim. Contact him Monday to Friday.
By filling this form below and send it to him to file for your claim .
LOTTERY WINNERS APPLICATION FORM OF PAYMENT.
FULLNAME.................................................
DATE OF BIRTH.........................................
ADDRESS...................................................
SEX..........................................................
AGE........................................................
NATIONALITY...........................................
AMOUNT WON............................................
OCCUPATION............................................
TELEPHONE.............................................
EMAIL.....................................................
DATE......................................................
WINNER REF/BATCH NO...........................APPROVED
FOR PAYMENT.
Please quote your reference, batch and winning number which can be found on the top left corner of this notification as well as your full name, address and telephone number to help locate your file easily. For security reasons, we advice all winners to keep this information confidential from the public until your claim is processed and your prize released to you.
This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming and unwarranted taking advantage of this program by non-participant or unofficial personnel.
Note, all winnings MUST be claimed by the 4th of May 2008; otherwise all funds will be returned as Unclaimed and eventually donated to charity Organizations.
Congratulations once again on your winnings!!! Best Regards Carol Sweet (co ordinator) CONTACT YOUR CLAIMS AGENT IMMIDIATELY TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE.
ANY BREACH OF CONFIDENTIALITY ON THE PART OF THE WINNERS WILL RESULT TO DISQUALIFICATION.
Yours faithfully,
Carol Sweet
Online coordinator for AUSTRALIAN LOTTO PROGRAMME, Sweepstakes International Program.
Click here for the huge list of the names of the currently identified lottery scams companies
* Re: emails of winnings. We know of only ONE exception in the world to this rule - and if you bought a ticket from them, you would know it, and would used their safegaurds.
* Re: emails of winnings. We know of only ONE exception in the world to this rule - and if you bought a ticket from them, you would know it, and would not be questioning it.