Scam lotteries / bogus prize draws
Two of the common postal and electronic scams are,
- Fake lotteries
- Fake prize draws
While there is a extremely small chance you have been entered into
a genuine free lottery or prize draw (usually held by companies
you are a member of), the likelihood is that you have been contacted
by a scammer. The likelihood is increased further if the prize value
or sum of money is of a large amount.
Unless you are 100% certain about the genuine nature of the lottery
or prize draw, you should simple delete the email or throw the letter
into the trash. The key feature of these scams is that at some point
they will ask for one of the following,
- Your bank / financial details.
- Money to process your winnings.
As common sense would dictate, you should never give anyone
either of the above. While the majority of prize draw scams are
amateurish in their precise, there are more professional scams.
A scam where the organiser will arrange a meeting at a hotel etc,
for the winner/s to receive their prize. This will, of course, result
in you needing to hand over something, usually money, before the
prize is given. If a prize is given, it's value will be far lower
than the sum of money you paid for it.
|
