Classic Scam
Buona sera. I was hoping for something to let some venom loose on, and what did I find in my Inbox? A scam. And not just a scam, but one of the classics. So, I'll perform my public service of educating you on this stuff (and you can refer others back here so they can see this and learn something), and also try to humiliate the scammers. One way I do that is to post the thing that they sent (and they sent it three times to an account that I have under one of my assumed names). And I checked the headers (you don't have to, they're often faked). Although it pretends to be for the UK, the headers say that it came from Mexico.
Here we go. I'll show you what was sent, and then tell you some things about it. Most of my regular readers do not need a refresher course, but it won't hurt in case you're getting rusty.
Dear WINNER [No name, of course]
We wish to congratulate you over YAHOO AWARDS CENTER ( UK ) UNITED KINGDOM
Postcode Lotto E-mail program. [Don't get greedy, people! You will not win from something that you never entered, and probably never knew existed.]
(i) Amount Won: (GBP£1,000,000.00) {One Million Great British Pounds
sterling) [If this was on the level, they would have no need to tell you the amount.]
(ii) Ticket Number: (ES42071-002)
(iii) Batch Number :( EU-175508)
(iv) Reference Number :( ES07-84-09-00-221)
YOU ARE ADVISED TO SEND THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION TO MR. PAUL WILLIAMS
Email paulwilliam2010@hotmail.co.uk TO FACILITATE THE RELEASE OF YOUR FUND
TO YOU. IMMEDIATELY. [Sure, I'm right on it, Cupcake.]
1. YOUR FULL NAME…………………….. [Like Hell I will.]
2. COUNTRY………………………
3. CONTACT ADDRESS……………..
4. TELEPHONE NUMBER………….. [Then I'll have to change my number later on.]
5. FAX NUMBER………………….
6. MARITAL STATUS………………. [Want the names of my girlfriends, too?]7. OCCUPATION…………………… [Classified]
8. MY DATE OF BIRTH…………….
9. SEX………………………….. [Again, do you want their names?]
10. BATCH NUMBER………………
11. REFERENCE NUMBER…………..
12 TICKET NUMBER........
13. AMOUNT WON………………..
14. YOUR PRIVATE EMAIL…………. [You mean you don't know it?]
We are at your service 24/7
CONTACT OF YOUR AGENT: +44 703 182 1943 [That is a British country code.]
EMAIL: paulwilliam2010@hotmail.co.uk
REGARDS,
(MR. PAUL WILLIAMS NATIONAL LOTTERY UK )
BLOW IS OUR INTERNET WEBSITE [Yes, they really did write "blow"!]
http://www.worldcasinodirectory.com/multistatelotto.htmOK, so not only are these stronzos trying to scam me one way, it's a scam for their casino Website.
Below (or is that "blow"?) are the rules. Chime in with the comments to add more rules, share experiences, thoughts or what have you, capice? 1. Never reply, it only validates your e-mail address and you'll get more spam and scams. 2. If you follow the first rule, you won't need this. But here it is, anyway: Never give out any personal information. This is the age of identity theft, not the age of Aquarius. 3. Don't get greedy; if it sounds too good to be true, then it really is too good to be true.
So, is everybody with me on this? Don't reply, never give out personal information. Gosh, that was fun! Update: Dear old Paul got his account closed after I reported him to Hotmail. It's nice to see that they took the report seriously. But keep in mind that these accounts are free, and he can easily sign up for another one and strike again. 
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