I’m starting to see a few more fake lottery scams in my e-mails. Everyone wants to win the lotto, but you can’t win one that you didn’t enter in the first place.
Rohit Kaul is the sender of a recent one to enter my junk mail with the teaser ‘ you have won'. These scammers use many names and they do so because hundreds of people still fall victim to scam lotteries. The first thing these fraudsters do is ask you to send money to pay for some sort of local tax or insurance before they can release the winnings. Then they need another payment to pay a bank charge, and another for some other government fee and before you know it you've sent them a couple of hunderd dollares. Some people have sent tens of thousands in the past.
No lottery would ask you to pay hundreds, even thousands of dollars, to claim winnings. And, there’s no way to win a lottery from some far-off country if you never entered in the first place.
When in Doubt, Google It!
Check the lottery out with your local legislative body or on-line to see if it is legitimate. A simple Google search can often uncover warnings from other people out there who have either been caught out or are savvy enough to spot a scam.
In America, talk to the Federal Trade Commission about any bogus scams. Australia’s legislative body is the Department of Fair Trading and, in the UK, try Consumer Direct, they’re funded by the UK office of Fair Trading.
If you’re from another country and you aren’t sure about who to contact, just Google “top scams” and your local equivalent should appear in one of the first ten search results.
Can Lost Money be Recovered?
Nope. Most of these crooks are targeting first world nations from the third world. People disappear in places like Africa and some parts of Asia all the time. You won’t find them or your money.
Notify the authorities or one of the legislative bodies mentioned above so that they can warn others.
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