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Don't bite: E-mail lottery setups strictly for losers

As Reported BY ASA Araons

Rita Hughes received an unsolicited e-mail that claimed she won $6.3 million in a lottery somewhere in Europe. "What do you think of this message?" the N.Y.C. woman asked. I think you should throw it away. It's a scam.

Don't bother trying to track down more information about the offer or the company behind it. Many e-mail lottery scams use the names of legitimate lottery organizations. However, the use of the name of a real organization in the e-mail does not mean a real organization is involved in any way with the scam.

There's really only one thing you have to know about all these international lottery letters and e-mail offers, and it's this: The schemes are designed to make you a loser. Someone wants to steal your money, your identity or both.

Look for the words "you have won," "prize winner notification" or some variation like that right at the top of the message. The idea is to get you excited and distracted enough to keep you from reading the rest of the information carefully enough to question the scheme.

The promoters create the illusion that they're letting you in on a secret. You're generally advised not to reveal your good fortune to anyone because of confidentiality rules or a mixup in some of the winning names and numbers.

They say exactly whatever they think will make you a believer. The writer will pretend to be a lawyer, claims agent, banker, government official or even a tax collector - any profession that generates a certain amount of public trust.

Scam lottery e-mails almost always come from free e-mail accounts rather than a legitimate business e-mail address. The e-mail address will typically be from Yahoo!, Hotmail, MSN or another service that offers free accounts.

The first letter you receive may seem harmless. But if you respond, the next one will ask for a host of personal information, including bank account numbers, copies of passports, driver's license numbers or credit card information.

Asa Aarons is a consumer reporter who appears on News 4 You at 5:30 p.m. weekdays on WNBC-TV, Channel 4. His special Daily News column appears Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays

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Last updated on:13/09/2008
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