Lottery Moments

Here is another scam that has victimised countless unwary people. Let’s call them direct mailings.  Instead of utilising the Internet and e-mail, these con artists make use of the more traditional postal mail, probably in the hopes that this method would seem more real.  So what happens?

First you receive an interesting bit of mail through the post.  It will probably some from an entity such as the Ethiopian Lottery Commission. Just like the e-mail, it would say that you have won the lottery, though you didn’t join it at all.  At this point your interest wouldn’t be that piqued.  Yet here is the thing, the mail would include a bank draft for several thousands of dollars.  Now they have you.

The letter would go on to say that this is merely the “advance” on your winnings of the jackpot.  Yet in order to get the total amount, you would have to pay handling fees and taxes amounting to say, 2/3 of the advance winnings.  The instructions would tell you to deposit the attached bank draft and then transfer the fees to another bank account.  You would probably be thinking, not a problem.  That is true, until you have transferred the fees and then receive news that the bank draft has bounced - it is a fake.

Again, bear in mind that you can never win a lottery that you have not joined!  Legitimate lotteries do not ask you for upfront fees - they deduct these from your winnings.  Your best possible course would be to report that piece of mail to the authorities OR ignore it.