by Nailgunner
Wed Nov 30, 2011 11:38 pm
This is an unusual and particularly nasty scam which targets facebook users, and is surprisingly insiduous for a lottery scam.
Summary: Do not send money in response to this message, the lottery does not exist and there is no prize fund. Do not send your email or facebook passwords to anyone, for any reason.
How is works is simple but very effective. The prospective victim will receive facebook messages from a friend telling them they have won a lottery of some kind, and that they should contact "Donald Allen" to claim their prize. Donald Allen operates from [email protected], [email protected] and similar addresses. He claims to be from london and has used a UK "follow me" number which is +447031866310. He is actually located in Lagos, Nigeria.
Donald will ask for money to process the release of a prize fund. Also, he will ask for Facebook and email passwords for "verification" purposes. Once the victim has sent money (or if they don't) Donald will lock them out of their email and facebook accounts and use them to contact the victim's friends, lending credibility to his advances on his next victim.
The initial approach from Donald (after the facebook hijack) is below:
Remember that no company or organisation will ever ask that you email them your password, or passwords for any other account be it email, social networking, anything. The only people who will ask you to do that are scammers who want to steal your identity and use to steal from you or your friends.
And of course, the old one applies... You'll never win a lottery if you don't enter it.
If your facebook account has been compromised contact your friends by email or telephone and warn them not to respond to this scam; also get onto Facebook and report your account as hijacked. Your friends can help with this, as their accounts will still be working.
Quick edit to add this admittedly rather rubbishy "disclaimer form" which victims may be asked to sign and return if they threaten to withdraw from the scam. This form is pure invention, has no legal or administrative basis and is utterly irrelevant anyway, there being no prize to disclaim. Its only purpose is to lend credibility to the scam and to try to turn around a victim who is thinking of breaking contact. I have never heard of the "British crown court registry" except in Q&A pages like Yahoo Answers; I suspect the questioners have recieved this form or one like it.
Look carefully at the form and note the obvious edit where "powerball lottery" appears - I suspected this form has been used in a number of similar scams and a Google Images search confirms it. View the results here: http://tinyurl.com/7algg9l . identical forms appear in the results, and always in connection with Lottery fraud.
The text is transcribed here (mostly for Google's benefit)
Needless to say all of this can be safely ignored.
Summary: Do not send money in response to this message, the lottery does not exist and there is no prize fund. Do not send your email or facebook passwords to anyone, for any reason.
How is works is simple but very effective. The prospective victim will receive facebook messages from a friend telling them they have won a lottery of some kind, and that they should contact "Donald Allen" to claim their prize. Donald Allen operates from [email protected], [email protected] and similar addresses. He claims to be from london and has used a UK "follow me" number which is +447031866310. He is actually located in Lagos, Nigeria.
Donald will ask for money to process the release of a prize fund. Also, he will ask for Facebook and email passwords for "verification" purposes. Once the victim has sent money (or if they don't) Donald will lock them out of their email and facebook accounts and use them to contact the victim's friends, lending credibility to his advances on his next victim.
The initial approach from Donald (after the facebook hijack) is below:
Hello (your name will appear here),
We have you on our POWERBALL list as one of who will be
Receiving Cheque, I am the Claims Manager of Powerball and Facebook
funds for Deaf (PFFD). PFFD is a Charity Organization that helps Deaf
and Hard of Hearing, Hearing. PFFD is in Collaboration with the
governing body of FACEBOOK by selecting all the people that are active
online. Among the millions that subscribed to Facebook, we select TEN
people every Month as our winners through electronic balloting System
without the winner applying, and your profile name has won you the sum
of £50,000.00 we congratulate you for being one of the people
selected, you can check our affiliated website, http://www.powerball.com
there you will see many winners. To claim your winnings you need to
fill the form blow,for security reason and this form will help us
locate you and also to deliver the money to the right person, so we
need correct information from you.
1. FULL NAMES:
______________________________
2. DATE OF BIRTH:
______________________________
3. SEX:
______________________________
4. MARITAL STATUS:
______________________________
5.CONTACT ADDRESS:
______________________________
6.TELEPHONE NUMBER:
______________________________
7.OCCUPATION:
______________________________
8.E-MAIL and PASSWORD:
______________________________
9.DEAF OR HEARING
______________________________
10.WHAT DO YOU DO FOR LIVING:
______________________________
11.WHAT IS YOUR CREDIT REPORT GOOD OR BAD:
______________________________
12. YOU OWN A HOUSE OR RENT APPT:
______________________________ ___________________
13.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF COMPANY/INDIVIDUAL:
______________________________ _____________________
14. WHAT IS YOUR FACEBOOK EMAIL& PASSWORD:
______________________________ __________________
Thanks for your continues anticipation.and congratulations, you so
much lucky........
Donald Allen
POWERBALL COMPANY
2010/2011
Remember that no company or organisation will ever ask that you email them your password, or passwords for any other account be it email, social networking, anything. The only people who will ask you to do that are scammers who want to steal your identity and use to steal from you or your friends.
And of course, the old one applies... You'll never win a lottery if you don't enter it.
If your facebook account has been compromised contact your friends by email or telephone and warn them not to respond to this scam; also get onto Facebook and report your account as hijacked. Your friends can help with this, as their accounts will still be working.
Quick edit to add this admittedly rather rubbishy "disclaimer form" which victims may be asked to sign and return if they threaten to withdraw from the scam. This form is pure invention, has no legal or administrative basis and is utterly irrelevant anyway, there being no prize to disclaim. Its only purpose is to lend credibility to the scam and to try to turn around a victim who is thinking of breaking contact. I have never heard of the "British crown court registry" except in Q&A pages like Yahoo Answers; I suspect the questioners have recieved this form or one like it.
Look carefully at the form and note the obvious edit where "powerball lottery" appears - I suspected this form has been used in a number of similar scams and a Google Images search confirms it. View the results here: http://tinyurl.com/7algg9l . identical forms appear in the results, and always in connection with Lottery fraud.
The text is transcribed here (mostly for Google's benefit)
The Judiciary Crown Court
London
Disclaim Form
This is to certify that I Mr/Mrs .... the legal approved winner of the powerball lottery does not wish to proceed with the claims process of my winnings. This is a result of my imability to proceed with the statutory claims requirements.
I will want all the legal documents backing my winnings and my international certified bank cheque to be remitted/refunded back to the powerball lottery Headquarters as unclaimed prize.
Please fill in your details
Name
Address
Phone
Fax
Raffle winning draw email
Winning reference no
Winning batch no
In supplying the above details, I confirm that all the information I have given herein in good faith believing all is true and correct in accordance to the international laws.
Sworn at the British Crown Court Registry, West End, london.
Needless to say all of this can be safely ignored.
Last edited by Nailgunner on Tue Jan 10, 2012 8:17 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Are they who they say they are? Google their email address or mobile phone number and see where else they've been. Use Google Images to see if they have stolen somebody elses' photographs.
