Lottery Scam Strikes E-mail Users of West Australia

An e-mail scam announcing users as lottery winners is targeting West Australia residents and deceptively acquiring their bank details and money, reports PerthNow dated February 2, 2012.

Informing recipients of the scam e-mail that they're winners of USD1m during one lottery draw by LotteryWest conducted together with the United Kingdom National Lottery Commission, the message asserts that the prize money amounts are yet to be released, as the e-mail cleverly utilizes LotteryWest's logo along with more unauthorized images.

Significantly, Anne Driscoll, Commissioner for Consumer Protection says that if an e-mail recipient replies to the message, it'll enable the scammers to learn about the validity of his e-mail id that'll lead to further scam e-mails to that person. PerthNow published this.

Moreover, people replying to the new scam e-mail will subsequently receive a phony authorization document that exhibits the logos of LotteryWest, United Kingdom Lottery Commission, and West Australia Government as well as seemingly substantiates that the prize money amounts are yet to be released.

Furthermore, according to Driscoll, it's probable that the scam's advocates want the recipients towards revealing personal bank account particulars as well as identification that could help in ID-theft against them. Also, it's greatly possible that the fraudsters ask for a processing charge for making the winnings' issuance possible, she adds.

Luckily, the scam hasn't thus far victimized any West Australian.

According to security researchers, it's common to find lottery scams these days, particularly against the people of Nigeria. In fact, during February 2011, an e-mail scammer from Nigeria named Ugochukwu Enwerem was arrested as well as sentenced to a 9-year period after he conned 18 people-or-more off over USD9.5m within USA, Europe and Australia via e-mail.

Conclusively, LotteryWest tells the general public that its lottery winners won't ever be contacted via SMS or e-mail. Besides, West Australia ScamNet urged end-users to never send cash as a means for claiming a winning amount, utilize wire-transfer in the form of a payment process to an unknown person, disclose confidential or personal details like credit card or bank account information to strangers, alternatively answer unsolicited text messages/e-mails announcing a lottery prize.

Related article: Lottery Scam Using Skype Message & Phone Gaining Ground in China

» SPAMfighter News - 2/9/2012