A:
These are SCAMS after YOUR money. Do NOT respond to them
or they may rob your bank account and steal your identity.
We were told that our company's name was referenced in an email
that fraudulently claims our jackpot winners had won through their
operation, which is NOT TRUE. This is the crooks' attempt to legitimize
their operation. If you received such an email, please forward the
entire email to us so we can put a stop to this misuse of our name.
Legitimate lotteries NEVER notify winners. Unclaimed prize money
is used for special drawings or is deposited into the general fund.
If you lose your winning ticket,I guarantee you will NEVER be
notified by a legitimate lottery.Any email that claims you won the
lottery is almost certainly a crook trying to get your money or to
steal your identity.
The scam says, "You are not required to pay any processing fee"
to make it sound legitimate. Once you respond with the required
information including your "date of birth, occupation, position held,"
etc., they tell you that a courier service will deliver a cashiers
check for the entire amount, but FIRST you have to send hundreds
or thousands of dollars by Western Union to pay for an itemized list
of phoney expenses to "help you claim the winning funds."
The amount your are charged depends on what you tell them
your occupation or position is.
If you really had won a large amount of money, doesn't it make sense that
any expenses accrued would simply be deducted from your winnings? Don't
let the temptation of wishful thinking cloud your good sense and believe
that these fake lottery tickets are real. Just ask
yourself why would YOU would have to pay any money up front if there
really was a pile of money for you to claim!!!
If you search for "lottery fraud" on www.google.com you will find more
than a million sites with details about these scams. Please don't be taken.
Don't hand your money over to crooks. Play only lotteries in your own
state or country where you can check the winning tickets you
purchased locally.
