Online users are advised to delete and not follow instructions in messages that claim they are winners in Google, Microsoft, Samsung, LG, AOL, and Facebook lotteries. This is because there are no such lotteries. The fake messages are sent by lottery scammers to trick potential victims into sending them money, which the scammers will claim is for taxes or courier fees needed in order to send their winnings.
But, once potential victims send their money via Western Union, MoneyGram, Prepaid debit cards or other money transfer services, the scammers will disappear, leaving the victims hundreds or thousands of dollars broke. Some of the scammers are even brave enough to contact their victims in order to rob them again, by telling them some bogus stories.
We all would love to win the lottery, but it doesn't mean that we should quickly believe in an email, text, or social media post that claims we have won. Researching such claim should always be done before responding, especially when personal information is requested.
Online users should never send personal information or money to anyone who claims that they have won the lottery. This is the first sign that lottery scammers are attempting to scam someone. Personal information collected by scammers are used to convince their potential victims into believing in their scams. Most of the time victims of lottery scams tell me that they believe the scammers because they have all their personal information, and if they were not legitimate they wouldn't have such information. But, what the victims did not know was that they were tricked into sending their personal information via phishing scams before, which the scammers used to their advantage.
Therefore, it doesn't matter how much information someone has about you, care or caution should always be taken when asked to send money, personal or even financial information. And, remember, there is no Google, Microsoft, Samsung, Apple, LG, AOL or Facebook lottery.