What do they want?

Lottery scam letters are sent out by the thousands and thousands every day.  There are only two things the bad guys want: your money and your identity.  Your identity is just as important or even more important than any money you send them, and they can get your identity when you open the very first letter if it contains a Trojan horse or spyware; scam letters often do. 

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What will they say to get what they want?

They will tell you whatever you want to hear.  They will tell you whatever they feel you will believe.  They will pretend to be lawyers, claims agents, bankers, law enforcement agents, people of high rank in the government, gaming officials, tax collectors, and any other title that will convince you they are good people.

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When do they ask for personal identification?

After you answer the first letter, they will write back asking for your personal identification.  This is used to steal your identity.  They steal your identity by using your personal banking, passport, driver's license, or credit card information to open accounts you don't know about - it doesn't matter if you have bad credit!  Felons get jobs using your name.  Illegal aliens and drug smugglers could care less about your credit - that will not keep them from getting a driver's license with your name and their picture, faking your birth certificate for a passport in your name with their picture, or anything else they want to do. 

They buy things in your name and do not pay for them.  They take out loans in your name and do not pay for them.  They commit crimes using your name and leave you holding the bag.  Creditors will contact you asking for their money.  Police will contact you and may even hold you for questioning to determine if you are telling the truth.  Unless you've been interrogated by the police, held for questioning, and spent time in jail while waiting for everything to be sorted out, you simply don't know the real meaning of a nightmare.   We work with fraud victims and their Criminal Defense Attorneys, both public and private, on a daily basis and see the damage all the time.

Identity Theft is a very serious thing and is a life sentence.  If you have sent scammers a copy of your passport, birth certificate, identity card, or driver's license; if you have sent them your banking information or your credit card information, or if you have merely been opening their emails - which provides your IP address by receipt, giving them a specific location to send their malware, please go HERE immediately (http://www.fraudaid.com/ID_theft.htm) !  ^ Top

When do they ask for money?

They usually ask for money in the second or third letter; sometimes they  ask for money in the first letter or the fourth letter. 

Legitimate lotteries, free lotteries (also known as Sweepstakes) never, NEVER ask for money.  They do not have to.  There are no fees of any kind.  If you really win a lottery or Sweepstakes, the only money you owe is the tax you personally pay directly to your government.  This tax is never paid through anyone else or by anyone else.  This is true in every country.

They tell you that you must pay money for bank fees, storage, shipping, and a long line of false reasons.  Every single reason, every document is false.  All documents are counterfeit or forged.  There are no fees for insurance.  There is no document or charge stating that the "winnings" will not be used for terrorism or illegal purposes.  No such document exists.  Lottery money is not stored at a security house.  Lottery money is not shipped in cash.  Lottery money is not sent by courier.

 Lottery money or Sweepstakes (free lottery) money is sent by check using DHL, UPS, or FedEx.  The check is from the Lottery Company and has the lottery company name on the check.  For instance, if you win the ABC Lottery, the check will say ABC Lottery on it.  The address for ABC Lottery will be correct.  It will be one that you can verify on your own, without asking the people who wrote the letters.  Why does the check come from the lottery company and have the lottery company name on it?  Because the lottery or Sweepstakes wants you to make copies of the check.  They want you to show it to everyone so that more people will register.  This is very important to them.  ^ Top

Is anything in the winning notification letter true?

NO.  Nothing in the winning notification letter is true.  All the letters are sent by people in a fraud cell.  A cell is a part of a fraud ring that consists of a few members who work under instructions from the fraud ring leader.  The fraud cell works from hotel rooms, back rooms ("boiler" rooms) and Internet Cafes.

If you walk into one of these boiler room, you see a lot of laptop computers and cell phones.  Cell phones might be piled on tables or on beds.  Each cell phone has a different name taped on the back. 

Actually, two names are written there.  One is the name of a scam victim, the other is the name of the character the scammer is playing. 

That is how each criminal knows what to say on the phone because the lies are based on the victim's name written on the tape and the phony name attached to that phone number. 

Each criminal in the fraud cell knows which one of them is corresponding with that particular victim, and knows what part to play.  One single criminal in a boiler room can be using as many as 30 different false names and titles.  ^ Top

I have received a check/money order or other drafts and I am supposed to send

some of the money to ____________.

DANGER!!  DO NOT TOUCH THAT DRAFT!  The check or money order you have received is COUNTERFEIT or stolen and you are responsible for the entire amount.  You are responsible for any money you spend and any money you send to anyone else.  If the bank or check casher is not aware of this crime, then you could be arrested.  Also, you owe taxes on the money that you kept.  ^ Top

I wired money by Western Union or Moneygram.  Can I get it back?

No, I am afraid you cannot get your money back.  This is true for 3 reasons.  (1) Once the funds are sent through Western Union and picked up at the other end, there is no trail to follow. (2) You don't really know where you are sending the money or who is going to pick it up.  The funds you wired can be picked up at any Western Union office anywhere in the world, and they can be picked up by anyone who furnishes the specified identification, which is often false.  (3)  The criminals do not put the money in a savings account.  It is spent immediately.  The money goes to fund further scam operations, amusement, opening and maintaining drug routes, and funding terrorism.  ^ Top

What if the winning notification refers to a web site?

Anyone can purchase and register a domain name.  A domain is the name of the web site.  For instance, fraudaid.com is Fraud-Aid's domain.  No background check is made to determine if the person who is purchasing and registering a domain is legitimate because a domain is merely a rented space on the Internet.  Nothing more.

Lottery winning notifications often refer to web sites that are supposed to be a bank, or a security company, or a courier service, or an online lottery web site.  Fraud criminals purchase domains by the hundreds.  These false web sites appear to be legitimate unless a person is trained to recognize them as false.

One of the many ways in which fraud criminals trick their victims is to create a false bank web site.  They tell the victim that the lottery money has been deposited in the [false] bank in the victim's name.  They give the victim a user name and password to look at the "money" in his or her account. 

When the victim looks at the online account he or she will see a balance equal to the promised winnings.  If the amount is not equal to the promised winnings, it still shows a very large balance.  The truth is that there is no money.  Anyone can create a password protected web page in just a few minutes.  It is very easy to do.  Making the page look like an online bank account is very easy.

The victim is told that the money cannot be withdrawn unless a large cash deposit is made to "release" the money.  The fraud criminal gives the victim the name of a different bank, an account number, an account name, and a bank routing number.  Once the victim sends the cash and the cash reaches the fraud criminal's bank account, the money is withdrawn and the account is closed.  The criminal then gives the victim many false reasons for why the deposit did not release the money.  The victim is told that more money has to be sent for other false reasons.  ^ Top

Can I or my family be physically injured by lottery fraud criminals?

Yes! You can be physically injured and even killed by lottery fraud criminals.  They are very dangerous people.  So far, physical injury, kidnapping, and murder have only occurred in West Africa and South Africa.  Some people who travel to South Africa to take possession of their [false] winnings have terrible things happen to them.  People who travel to West Africa (Nigeria and neighboring countries) have also been beaten, kidnapped, or murdered.

So far, we have not heard that lottery criminals have injured anyone outside of West Africa and South Africa, but if you are being threatened, please go HERE.  ^ Top

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