El Gordo Spanish Lottery Scam
I received in the mail an official-looking letter yetsterday informing me I'd won $830,590 in the El-Gordo Sweepstake Lottery Program, which was sponsored this year by Bill Gates, the Emir of Brunei, Queen Elizabeth II, and the Alfred Nobel Foundations Sweden "as part of their philanthropic contribution to the world development." Apparently what happened was a "mix up of names and addresses the result were released on the 2nd March..." I'm not sure what that means, exactly, since I've never purchased an El-Gordo lottery ticket (see below). After the Congratulations!!!!! and sponsorship notification I'm told "Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep this award from public notice until your claim has been processed and your money remitted to your designated accounts as this is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming of unwarranted taking of an advantage of this program by participants."
Could I really shout out to the world I'd won $830,590 then turn right around and claim it again to double my money? Is this organization that gullible? Or do they mean I shouldn't share my good fortune with anyone else in case they would want a part of the action as well, thus draining the prize coffers of the El Gordo Sweepstakes? You got me.
I've received email notifications like this before and as a result my net worth is over $500 million now.
The letter thing is new, and one of a string of various "winnings" letters I've pulled out of my mailbox this past year. I guess spammers are finding out that email really isn't the panacea of communication and sales that they were told. The postmark is even from Spain with a .78 Eruo stamp and my business address. The letter has hand-writtem signatures over official-looking seals.
Now, El-Gordo ("The Fat One") is a real lottery out of Madrid, and is the largest lottery in the world, paying out upwards of $1 - $2 Billion around Christmas each year. But you have to buy a ticket to win (which I didn't in this case). Also, it's against federal law for US citizens to participate in foreign lotteries - see This Site for more information and links to the FTC.
Accompanying the prize winning notification is another "official" form from Amway Global Trust Agency, also in Madrid. This is the form you fill out with the bank account number where you want your winnings deposited, your address, even your next of kin contact name, address and phone number. Also with an official, hand-signed stamp.
It all looks very proper except for the fact that I never purchased anything to participate in this lottery. I'm so sad because I could use another $830,590. There are folks out there, however, that will be taken in by this and other scams which take about $120 million from unsuspecting and hopeful targets annually.
After some web searching, El Gordo scams apparently originate mostly in Canada of all places. There are the obvious Nigerian scams, but I was surprised to find these El Gordo scams are coming from Canada. My letter did come from Spain, unless the postmark was also forged. I'll run this down to the Postmaster, along with another letter I received a while back. Maybe they can CSI them, dust for prints and swab for DNA, peer at them under UV light, interview suspects, and track down the perps after analyzing the handwriting. More than likely it will get filed away and forgotten.
A warning, though, which should be obvious to most. If it looks too good to be true, it is. If you've won something in a contest you've never heard of, it's a scam. If you receive a notification of winnings in the mail and it didn't come by registered or certified mail, it's a scam. If the the grammar is horrible, it's a scam. If there is any verbage in the notification telling you to keep it a secret, it's a scam. And ESPECIALLY, if you are required to PAY ANYTHING to receive your winnings, it's most definitely a scam.
Your best bet if you have any inkling that it may be legitimate, is take it down to your state Attorney General's office or your Postmaster and let them have a look. Be careful, be aware, and keep your money where it will do the most good, in your own account.
Could I really shout out to the world I'd won $830,590 then turn right around and claim it again to double my money? Is this organization that gullible? Or do they mean I shouldn't share my good fortune with anyone else in case they would want a part of the action as well, thus draining the prize coffers of the El Gordo Sweepstakes? You got me.
I've received email notifications like this before and as a result my net worth is over $500 million now.
The letter thing is new, and one of a string of various "winnings" letters I've pulled out of my mailbox this past year. I guess spammers are finding out that email really isn't the panacea of communication and sales that they were told. The postmark is even from Spain with a .78 Eruo stamp and my business address. The letter has hand-writtem signatures over official-looking seals.
Letter header
Some body text
Letter footer with "official" signatures
Now, El-Gordo ("The Fat One") is a real lottery out of Madrid, and is the largest lottery in the world, paying out upwards of $1 - $2 Billion around Christmas each year. But you have to buy a ticket to win (which I didn't in this case). Also, it's against federal law for US citizens to participate in foreign lotteries - see This Site for more information and links to the FTC.
Accompanying the prize winning notification is another "official" form from Amway Global Trust Agency, also in Madrid. This is the form you fill out with the bank account number where you want your winnings deposited, your address, even your next of kin contact name, address and phone number. Also with an official, hand-signed stamp.
It all looks very proper except for the fact that I never purchased anything to participate in this lottery. I'm so sad because I could use another $830,590. There are folks out there, however, that will be taken in by this and other scams which take about $120 million from unsuspecting and hopeful targets annually.
After some web searching, El Gordo scams apparently originate mostly in Canada of all places. There are the obvious Nigerian scams, but I was surprised to find these El Gordo scams are coming from Canada. My letter did come from Spain, unless the postmark was also forged. I'll run this down to the Postmaster, along with another letter I received a while back. Maybe they can CSI them, dust for prints and swab for DNA, peer at them under UV light, interview suspects, and track down the perps after analyzing the handwriting. More than likely it will get filed away and forgotten.
A warning, though, which should be obvious to most. If it looks too good to be true, it is. If you've won something in a contest you've never heard of, it's a scam. If you receive a notification of winnings in the mail and it didn't come by registered or certified mail, it's a scam. If the the grammar is horrible, it's a scam. If there is any verbage in the notification telling you to keep it a secret, it's a scam. And ESPECIALLY, if you are required to PAY ANYTHING to receive your winnings, it's most definitely a scam.
Your best bet if you have any inkling that it may be legitimate, is take it down to your state Attorney General's office or your Postmaster and let them have a look. Be careful, be aware, and keep your money where it will do the most good, in your own account.
posted by Mike Shipman | 11:05:00 AM
1 Comments:
I am in Oklahoma and yesterday I recieved a letter claiming that i have just won the El Gordo lottery. And it also enclosed a check for almost 4000.00, which amazes me because I was ready to go and deposit the check. I wasn't born yesterday so I done some research and found this site and many others. Thank you Heather
heatheralligator@yahoo.com
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