The Myriad of Lottery Scams
by Mark
(Dallas, Tx, USA)
This wasn't a normal lottery scam!
I was checking my email one day, when I noticed one that read, "Prize Claim Confirmation". I decided to check it out.
Apparently, I had somehow entered the UK lottery (I live in Texas) and I had won.
These guys went into detail. They had pictures of old guys who supposedly had PH.D's, Logos that weren't crafted in MS Paint, a real location in the UK that checks out as being registered to their company, and even a story about how I was splitting the winnings with another person.
These guys are all the same. They want your name, your email, your address, your social security number, your birth date, your occupation, and even your bank account. Basically, the whole nine yards.
Rather than send everything outright, I did a little checking. Their location is real, their fax is real, their phone is real, it all checks out. If you send them a little email back about confirming as to whether or not you will pick up your stuff in person, they respond. Craziness!
I corresponded for a few emails, then began ignoring them. Immediately I was bombarded over the next week with the infamous Nigerian bank scam, the dying cancer wealthy beneficiary scam, the dead black man with 40 million dollar scam, and a whole host of other lottery scams. It's all crap, it's all stupid and no one is doing anything about it.
What I think needs to happen, is some government agency needs to get hold of one of these emails, then use a felon's name and information to submit to them. That way, when they try to make one of these ID's and someone uses it, they get flagged over there in Europe or Africa by interpol.
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