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With a still struggling economy and most Americans now on-line, scammers are working hard to get you to part with your money. Many of these lottery scams center on a potential victim being contacted via email and told they have won a large cash prize. Then the scam artist informs the victim that they must pay a fee - often several thousand dollars - to secure release of the funds. It's usually described as taxes or a processing fee.
Some really bold scammers follow up those emails with repeated calls to their victims. Jamaican thieves recently targeted a West Virginia man, pressing him for taxes, bank charges and other fees in order for him to receive a purported $10 million lottery prize. Before he caught on, the rip off artists collected more than $40,000.00 from the victim over a 10-month period, as reported by WTOV9. The state's Attorney General is investigating.
How could this happen? "They convince people that the winnings are real, using personal information about you. But, most of that information is actually available on the internet for anyone to see," says seven time lottery game grand prize winner, Richard Lustig.
Comment: This is currently happening not only in UK, but France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, ...