What Is the Microsoft Global Email Lottery?
The Microsoft Global Email Lottery is a system that scammers use to defraud people out of money. Scammers try to convince recipients that they need to claim lottery winnings. Indication of this lottery is by email, and recipients are encouraged to respond to the personal email or send money to the scammers in order to receive the lottery winnings.
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Misrepresentation
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The fraudulent email gives an address for the company that is in a foreign country. They distinguish themselves as "Microsoft Email Lottery International." The fraudulent person or company may also reference the Microsoft official website.
Lottery Winnings
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The sender notifies the recipient that he has won an international lottery from Microsoft and the World Gaming Board. It states the recipients winning numbers, even though the recipient did not enter a contest or lottery.
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Claiming the Prize
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To obtain the prize, the scammer requests the recipient to contact an agent that is in the "legal department" and gives multiple ways to do so. When recipients contact the legal department or respond to the email, the scammers indicate certain fees the recipient must pay to receive the prize. Some variations of the email state these processing and claiming fees right away.
Fees
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Those who are tricked by the scam email pay these "fees" and never receive any monetary prize. Others provide personal information about themselves,and private information that may allow the scammers to use the recipient's identity fraudulently.
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References
- Photo Credit money money image by Valentin Mosichev from Fotolia.com
