Spam Scams Make A Comeback

Bunches of different types of e-mail spam scams are coming and going. Currently, the "You Have Won The Lottery" is back in the cycle. Different variations of the same theme saying that the reader has won money - lots of it - either in a foreign lottery or a drawing one had personally never entered- are flooding the inboxes. E-mails with subject lines "Call for the claim of your winning" or "Congratulation Consolation Prize Winner 2006" appears profusely.

To claim the prize money, the e-mail asks the recipient to send in personal information for verification either through e-mail or phone. Most often the information asks for bank account so that the "winnings" can be electronically transferred there.

Lottery coordinator for 'lottery International Programs' Walter Jones, in an official e-mail, asks readers to keep all lotto information secret, particularly the reference and ticket numbers. This is to prevent double claims for the same lotto.

Recently, in another type of spam, there were attempts to lure users through a BMW car into their latest scam. The spam mail said that the recipient has become a proud winner of a BMW lottery and could claim 950,000 euros and a bran-new 'BMW 5 Series' car.

It is very natural that people would not decline a free BMW or a huge cash. This is precisely the reason behind the success of such lottery scams, says Carole Theriault, 'senior security consultant' at Sophos. Theriault cautions users not to respond to such messages to stop their distribution.

Another scam circulating in the e-mail boxes is the "eBay Shill Bidding" message. The e-mail notifies the recipient sternly that his/ her account is suspended for at least 7 days due to breach of eBay's 'Shill Bidding Policy'. The person is barred from using eBay including use of existing accounts and registration for new ones during the period of suspension. Further, any current auctions of the recipient have been cancelled.

The bottom line is that there is no case of international lottery and hardly anyone wins theses lotteries. Therefore, people should not respond to such bogus e-mails for it could result in emptying their bank accounts to fraudsters.

Related article: Spam Scam Bags a Scottish Connection

» SPAMfighter News - 11/24/2006