UK/Euro Millions Lottery - Scam?

[Steverooo]

UK/EURO MILLIONS LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL WORLDWIDE

Just got an E-mail, saying I won... Which is really odd, since I never entered! Anyone heard of this, before? I assume it's a scam...

Here is the text of the E-mail, slightly editted to remove numbers:

=======================



UK/EURO MILLIONS LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL WORLDWIDE PROGRAMM PROMOTION/PRIZE AWARD DEPT
REFERENCE:
BATCH:

EUROMLT FINAL NOTIFICATION
We happily announce to you the draw (#954) of the UK/EURO NATIONAL LOTTERY, online Sweepstakes International program held on 27th October 2005.
Your e-mail address attached to ticket number: with Serial number drew the lucky numbers: ()-()-()-()-()bonus #().Which subsequently won you the lottery in the 2nd category.
You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of 1,000,000,00 Euros(one million euros) in cash credited to file
This is from a total cash prize of 10,000,000,00 Euros shared amongst the first Ten (10) lucky winners in this category All participants for the online version were selected randomly from World Wide Web sites through computer draw system and extracted from over 100,000 unions, associations, and corporate bodies that are listed online. This promotional program takes place once in three years and we hope with part of your winning you will take part in our end of year 50million Uk/Euro International lottery.
Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our European booklet representative office in Europe as indicated in your play coupon.In view of this,you have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of 1.000.000.00 Euros(One Million Euros) your prize would be released to you by our sole representative Santa Lucia Security Company Espaсa/courier Department.Our agent will immediately commence the process to facilitate the release of your funds as soon as you contact him/her.
For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claim is processed and your money remitted to you in whatever manner you deem fit to claim your prize.This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program. Please be warned !!!
To file for your claim, please contact our fiduciary agent:
website:www.ukwins.co.uk
DR.TOM BLATT & CO. LEGAL/SOLICITOR,
E MAIL: santaluciamail20@ OR santaapproval@
We members of staff congratulate you UK/EURO MILLIONS INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY.
Yours faithfully,
Mrs Comfort Jose
Director Online International Promotions Unit/Lottery Coodinator,
N:B
1.All claims are nullified after 14 working days from today.
2.Your Ref/batch number must be in all your mails with the claims
officer.
3.Do inform the claims officer of any change of names or addresses.

 

[Zappo]

Is it a scam? Well, let's just say that if you set your email client to automatically trash anything containing the string "you won", you won't go wrong.

 

[RangerWickett]

Of course it's a scam!

 

[Steverooo]

Well, okay, there is a UK/Euro Millions Lottery, but Tom Blatt & Co., Solicitors, don't seem to have a web presence. That seems odd.

Any UKers out there, today?

 

[LiKral]

Classic scam - you get an email saying you won a lottery that you never entered. If you respond they try and con some money out of you in some way - probably they ask you for bank details or ask you for a processing fee. Practically the oldest con in the book.

 

[loki44]

Of course it's a scam!

No it's not, just send me your bank account and routing numbers and I'll prove you wrong!

 

[Arnwyn]

If they only contacted you through email, it's a scam.

 

[Wystan]

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/uk-national-lottery.html

http://www.national-lottery.co.uk/player/p/promotions/promotions.jsp?promo=commonscams

Over the last few weeks I've noticed a significant increase in the amount of lottery scam emails that have been going around. A number of site visitors have submitted examples that they have received. Several have also provided copies of further correspondence they have had with the scammers, and this has been quite enlightening.

Basically, these scams work like this:

You receive an unsolicited email, which states that you have won a major prize in an international lottery. Supposedly, your email address was collected online and attached to a random number that was subsequently entered in a draw for the lottery. In order to claim your prize, you are instructed to contact the official "agent" in charge of your case. You are also advised to keep the win confidential for "security reasons". This part of the scam is basically a random phishing expedition. If you respond in any way to the email, the scammers will send further messages or even contact you by phone in an attempt to draw you deeper into the scam.

You may be asked to provide banking details, ostensibly to facilitate the transfer of your winnings. Sooner or later, the scammers will request some sort of advance fee supposedly to cover administration, legal or delivery costs. This request for money is the main purpose of the scam. At its core, this scam is just a reworking of the Nigerian loan fraud, in which scammers also eventually ask for upfront fees to facilitate the "deal". Like Nigerian scams, victims who do actually pay the requested fees will probably find that they receive continuing payment demands to cover "unexpected expenses". The requests for money will go on until the victim realizes what is happening or has no further money to send.

The details of the lottery scams vary regularly with regard to the name of the lottery itself, the country of origin, the sponsoring organization, the amount of the "prize" and other particulars. The scammers try to add a patina of legitimacy to their claims by mentioning real financial institutions, government departments or well-known companies. They may also provide links to slick looking, but fraudulent websites that are designed to back up information included in the scam emails. If the scammers are successful in establishing a dialogue with a potential victim, they may provide "proof" such as a scanned image of a supposed government official's ID and even photographs of the "winnings" in cash.

If you receive one of these scam emails, it is important that you do not respond to it in any way. The scammers are likely to act upon any response from those they see as potential victims. Although it can be educational and even entertaining to "bait" these scammers, such endeavours should only be attempted under controlled conditions. The people who run these scams are criminals and could even resort to violence and intimidation to meet their aims.

I am currently gathering together a collection of examples and other information about these lottery scams to be placed on the Hoax-Slayer website. If you have been sent one of these scam emails, I'd be glad to receive a copy.

A typical example of a lottery scam is reproduced below:

WINNING NOTIFICATION:
We happily announce to you the draw of the UK-LOTTO Sweepstake Lottery International programs held on the 27th of March, 2004 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Your e-mail address attached to ticket number: 564 75600545188 with Serial number 5368/02 drew the lucky numbers: 19-6-26-17-35-7, which subsequently won you the lottery in the 2nd category.

You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of US$2,500,000.00 (Two million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars)in cash credited to file ktu/9023118308/03.This is from a total cash prize of U.S $ 2.5 Million dollars, shared amongst the first nine (9) luckywinners in this category.

All participants were selected randomly from World Wide Web site through computer draw system and extracted from over 100,000 companies. This promotion takes place annually. Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our European booklet representative office in Europe as indicated in your play coupon. In view of this, your U.S$2,500,000.00 (Two million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) would be released to you by our payment office in Europe.

Our European agent will immediately commence the process to facilitate the release of your funds as soon as you contact him. For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claims is processed and your money remitted to you in whatever manner you deem fit to claim your prize.

This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by some unscrupulous elements. Please be warned.

To file for your claim, please contact our fiduciary agent: Mr Richard Diwar
Email:dywar2@ecplaza.net

To avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please quote your reference/batch numbers in any correspondence with us or our d esignated agent.

Congratulations once more from all members and staffs of this program. Thank you for being part of our promotional lottery program.

Sincerely,
SIR HENRY BERNARD.
UK-LOTTO Co-ordinator.

 

[ssampier]

First, you can't win a prize or contest you did not enter. Second, is it legal for U.S. residents to enter the UK Lottery?

No it's not, just send me your bank account and routing numbers and I'll prove you wrong!

You send me your bank account # and routing number, so I can verify your identity

 

[Turanil]

It's indeed a scam. Delete all this crap without a thought.