Scam email ends

On the face of it, this email looks more plausible in that it seems to have the correct Yahoo! header so it looks more official. However, it originates form a hotmail account and though it has what looks like a Yahoo reply-to mail this still looks suspicious. Moreover the contratulations subject line is incorrectly spelled and isn't addressing me by my first name so my suspicions were aroused. Again, this is supposedly an e-mail-based lottery so the alarm bells were ringing instantly. The next thing to notice is that the claims numbers (apart from the UK ones) ave a +234 prefix. This is the prefix for Nigeria. Now alarm bells should definitely be ringing in your ears. Any unsolicited email originating from Nigeria is a scam. So as soon as you see a Nigerian number prefix dump the email immediately.

A little digging in the email's HTML encoding also revealed that the signature came from another lottery site and the picture comes from another site altogether. This is an email cobbled together from multiple sources and it's a complete scam. Moreover, if Yahoo! really were supporting such a lottery they would have a huge campaign about it. After all it would be excellent publicity for them. Once again, if you've never entered a lottery and you get emails like these then ditch them. Also don't click on any links in these emails as they are also phishing for your personal information. So even if the site you're taken to looks legitimate it probably isn't and never, ever, enter any personal information there.

Conclusion

In conclusion: lotteries only serve one of two purposes. They are there to raise money or they are there to provide publicity in order to draw-in customers. If you have not seen an ad campaign for a lottery and you have never entered then any email you will have been sent is a fraud. Moreover, there is no such thing as an anonymous email lottery. Any message claiming to be from an email-based draw is a fraud.

In these kinds of email lottery scams people who have never filled in a form with their name and address are told they won millions. If this was a real lottery, what's in it for the organizer? Moreover, if a total stranger promises you millions of dollars or euros out of the blue, it's probably a fraud.

If you ever get one of these emails then consider these points:

• Have you ever heard of the company? Do a Google search for the name of the claims agent or lottery company. In most cases you will find many fraudulent mails that people have received and published to warn others.
• Even if the name of the lottery doesn't come up, search for a few phrases. Most lottery scams use recycled texts. In many cases even the "winning numbers" stay the same for draws on different dates.
• What email address did this arrive from? Is it a webmail service like netscape.net, tiscali.co.uk, tiscali.fr, atlas.cz, winning.com, zwallet.com, etc.? Real companies generally have their own corporate domains and real websites.
• What email address was it addressed to? In many fraud mail cases, the recipient address is suppressed ("None") or it matches the sender address or a close variation thereof.
• Email is too unreliable to notify prize winners. Real lotteries don't use email to notify winners. Either they have to come forward on their own or they are notified by registered mail.
• Do the spelling and grammar in the mail you received look like legitimate business mail?
• Does the email give a postal address and phone number for the lottery company, or if you are told to contact a handling agent, for the agent?
• Does the email mention a "mix up of some numbers and names" and ask you to "keep your Winning information confidential until your claims have been processed"?
• Are any phone numbers listed mobile phone numbers (such as 0031-6 for Dutch mobile phones or +234 80 for Nigerian mobile phones)?
• Is the claims office in a completely different country to where the draw was supposedly held?
• Real lottery companies don't charge you 550 euros or more for paperwork to receive your winnings. Fake lotteries do, and then don't deliver any winnings...