Online users who have received emails like the one below, which claim they have been selected to benefit from a World Lottery Association(WLA) program that has recovered and approved millions of dollars from unclaimed lottery winnings, are asked to delete them. This is because the messages are fakes being sent by lottery scammers who are attempting to trick their potential victims into sending them their information, and subsequently asking them to send money. The scammers will claim the money is for taxes, processing fee, delivery fee or some other bogus fee. But, do not be fooled. The scammers will take your money and disappear once you have sent it, and you will not receive the lottery prize or money that you were promised.
Remember, once you are asked to send personal information or money in order to receive a lottery prize, it is a scam.
A Sample of the "World Lottery Association" Scam
From: "Mr. Jean-Luc" online232@tim.it
Date: August 31, 2017 at 8:42:56 PM EDT
Subject: Attn: Official Notification
Reply-To: office01.credit@gmail.com
Greetings,
Through a recently finalized investigative program finessed by the Board of Directors of World Lottery Association; we wish to notify you that you are among the lucky ones to benefit from the program.
The management of the World Lottery Association recently organized a program to trace and recover all unclaimed lottery winnings from all lottery Benefactors around the globe; The need arose because of several reports in our office about failed lottery claims from around the World.
Enlisted among other recovered winnings which have been thoroughly investigated and approved is your Lottery Winnings of Twenty Six Million, Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand United States Dollars ( $26,350,000.00 ).
All recovered winnings are deposited with one of the Banks with the best worldwide services for dispatch of the funds to the beneficiaries at contact; First Nations Bank of Canada have been tasked therefore to handle all transactions to a logical conclusion.
You're advised to contact the management of First Nations Bank Of Canada today through the outlined information below and request for your lottery winnings of
$26,350,000.00.
BANK INFO:
Bank Name: First Nations Bank Of Canada
Contact Person: Joseph Casilass
Email: fnbc_consult@consultant.com
Contact the Bank with your Personal Identification Code ( WLA/021.PG/511 ) and
a full identification of yourself which must include; Your Name ---,
Profession--- and Age---.
All deposits have been confirmed by the management of First Nations Bank Of Canada and winnings have been made available for receipt; so do not hesitate to
contact the Bank as soon as you receive this message.
Thank you.
Yours truly,
Mr. Jean-Luc Moner-Banet.
President,
World Lottery Association.
The World Lottery Association is aware of the lottery scamming emails and have published the following tips to protect the public:
“You’ve won the lottery!” It’s something that many people want to hear. But most often, those words come through emails and letters from scammers who are trying to steal your money.
The scammers use different company names, the names and logos of legitimate lotteries, and some have even used our association’s logo to give their scam credibility, but they all operate in a similar manner. We assure you we are not involved in these schemes. The WLA is not a lottery and does not offer any winnings.
Here are some tips that can prevent you from being scammed:
- If someone says you have won a lottery from the World Lottery Association (WLA) it is fraudulent as the WLA is not a lottery and does not offer any winnings.
- If someone says you have won a lottery that you have never played, be suspicious. You can’t win a legitimate lottery if you didn’t buy a ticket.
- If you have caller-ID on your phone, check the area code when someone calls to tell you you’ve won. If it is from a foreign country, that is a red flag. Also, be aware that some con artists use technology that allows them to disguise their area code: although it may look like they’re calling from your state, they could be anywhere in the world.
- Be suspicious if an e-mail contains misspellings or poor grammar, or if the person who called you uses poor English.
- If you are told that you need to keep your “win” confidential, be suspicious.
- No real lottery tells winners to put up their own money in order to collect a prize they have already won. If you have to pay a fee to collect your winnings, you haven’t won.
- Just because a real lottery is mentioned does not necessarily make it a real prize. Someone may be using the lottery’s name without its permission or knowledge.
- Never give out personal information or send money unless you verify the company’s or solicitor’s legitimacy.
- Be suspicious of any offer that asks to have money sent by Western Union, MoneyGram or other transfer methods. It is nearly impossible to track payments and recover funds sent to scammers.
- If they offer to wire the “winnings” directly into your bank account, do not give them your bank account information.
- If you are told that you can “verify” the prize by calling a certain number, that number may be part of the scam. Instead of calling it, you should look up the name of the lottery or organization on your own to find out its real contact information.
- If you think someone on the phone is trying to scam you, hang up immediately. If you engage them in conversation, your name and contact information could end up on a list that’s shared with other scammers.