Accents
Beware of e-mail scams! (3)
Do you have a long-lost uncle or granduncle who made a fortune in the Middle East, passed away without naming an heir to his vast accumulated wealth? My husband Rudy was informed (via e-mail of course) that one named Mark Lagoc died leaving a huge bank deposit, and if Rudy is interested in claiming, certain processes have to be undertaken, but first, a fixed percentage must go to the informant. Agree? Moreover, will Rudy please send over a bank account number to which the windfall is going to be deposited? Why not say yes to a tempting offer from oil-rich Saudi Arabia? Indeed, why not? The 'Uncle' made it big in Saudi and not in the wilds of Africa nor in famine-ravaged Ethiopia. But this is another story that happened several e-mails ago, consigned into the garbage bin after Rudy had threatened to sue the e-mail sender who immediately got lost in Internet limbo.
Now I’ve got to end this scam write-up (copy-paste would be more apt) before you and I get to the surfeit degree-you leaving me for another columnist and I dropping it for a Tom Clancy thriller. My son-in-law David Dingus, a scam sleuth, roamed intergalactic space covering far-away United Kingdom, the U.S. of A. continent, down to RP isles, finally homing in to my PC with his findings:
Common Lottery Scams
The National Lottery website (www.national-lottery.co.uk) is safe and secure. Nevertheless, you need to be on your guard against Internet fraudsters. Below are details of some of the more common fraudulent activities:
Email scams that claim you have won a Lottery prize
Lottery scam emails are increasing at an alarming rate. These scams work in two ways:
Method 1: Persuade the victim to part with personal information to allow the scammers to carry out Identity Theft.
Method 2: Persuade the victim to part with money as an up front payment in order to release a winning Lottery prize which does not exist.
Signs of a fraudulent email:
There may be a sense of urgency, eg 'respond within X days or your Account will be closed'
There may be embedded links (links within the body of the email) that look legitimate because they contain all or part of a real company's name. These links may take you to spoof sites which ask you to update personal information, or may download key-logging software onto your PC
Spoof websites can be difficult to spot. To make sure you're on our site, type www.national-lottery.co.uk into your browser and see if you arrive at the same place
Spoof websites (known as 'phishing')
Fraudsters create false or 'spoof' websites that look very real, with the aim of persuading users to enter personal information such as passwords and memorable information. They will then re-use this information to access your Account. Customers get emails claiming to be from official websites asking them to click on a link within the email to the 'spoof' site.
The National Lottery would never ask you to email us with confidential information.
In order to protect yourself from such scams, we advise the following:
Don't click on links in unsolicited emails
Never send any up-front fees required in order to 'claim your prize'
Never disclose personal information or financial information via email or a 'claims' or 'verification' form
If you wish to visit a particular website, always key in the address directly rather than using an embedded link
Always remember, where you wish to discuss your Account with us, we will always verify your identity by asking specific security questions disclosed to us when you set up your Account. Our Interactive Customer Care team do not have access to your full password.
Current list of blacklisted 419 domains (last updated: 2005-10-06 09:05 JST):
- crmlimited.com
- crmltd-uk.com
- crmltd.org
- crmltdonline.com
- cross-country-express.org
- ctabcl.com
- ctlottery2005.com
- customerserviceheadquaters.com
- customerservicesworld.net
- customerserviceworld.net
- cwaytravels.net
If you are someone who has been promised an unexpected fortune by people associated with one of these domains, do not send them money. Instead contact us and send us a copy of their emails.
Remember, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is-a SCAM!
(Comments to lagoc@hargray.com)