Internet Pirates and Dupes

There is a news report in The Tribune dated June 17, 2006, Ludhiana Supplement. According to the report titled "Lottery Winner ‘Cheated’, a villager of Kanganwal, received a winning notice of a lottery. He was told to keep his winning information hidden before receiving the prize money. He was made to pay some money also. Now the villager is waiting for the money and feels that he is being cheated.

Is the fear and premonition of the villager true? I believe that it is true and feel sorry for the villager. He is cheated.

How can I say that? Well, just now when I am typing this, there are 364 mails in my Spam bin. Out of those discarded mails, many of them, (nearly 50 % and rest of them about sex tablets.) are about the winning notification.

I am receiving such winning notices since last one and a half year. Let me reproduce the contents of some them verbatim. I am virtually posting the copy of the contents of one of those winning letters.

Here is an example.
It is received just now when I open my Spam bin to collect a letter required.

The contents are as follows:

BILL NOTIFICATION DESK
(Customer Services)
3b, Olympic Way,
Sexton Business Park,
Aintree, Liverpool, L30, 1RD,
United Kingdom.
Batch: 12/25/0340
Ref: BIL/101OXI/02
Attn:Lucky Winner,

We happily announce to you the draw (#989) of the BRITISH INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY, online Sweepstakes International program held on 15th June 2006.Your e-mail address attached to ticket number: 56475600545188 with Serial number 5368/02 drew the lucky numbers: (13)-(43)-(06)-(15)-(02)-(40)bonus # (09).Which subsequently won you the lottery in the 2nd category i.e match 5 plus bonus. You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of£500,000 (Five hundred thousand pounds sterling) in cash credited to file no KTU/9023118308/03. This is from a total cash prize of £2,000,000.00 shared amongst the first four lucky winners in this category i.e Match 5 plus bonus. All participants for the online version were selected randomly from World Wide Web through computer draw system and extracted from over 100,000 unions, associations, and corporate bodies that are listed online. This promotion takes place bianually. Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our European booklet representative office in Europe as indicated in your play coupon.In view of this, your £500,000 (five hundred thousand pounds sterling) would be released to you by any of our Affiliate courier department.Our agent will immediately commence the process to facilitate the release of your funds as soon as you contact him/her. For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claim is processed and your money remitted to you in whatever manner you deem fit to claim your prize. This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program. Please be warned !!! To file for your claim, please contact our fiduciary agent : MR FRANK DENNIS E MAIL: lotterycompany74@yahoo.co.uk PHONE:+447031942690 PHONE:+447031917488 FAX:+448709127423
Goodluck from me and members of staff of the BRITISH INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY.
Yours faithfully,
ELIZABETH HANKS(Mrs.) Director.International Promotions Unit,

Kindly note the advice in the above letter also. It reads, For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claim is processed and your money remitted to you in whatever manner you deem fit to claim your prize. This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program. Please be warned !!!

Now such letters do not come from only one place. They are from different part of Europe, Middle East and South East Asia.

Here I reproduce an extract of another winning notice from Spain.

It reads, (just check what information they are asking from me)
All participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from 25,000 names and E-mail addresses from Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and North America as part of our international lottery program which we conduct twice every year. We hope that with part of your prize, you will part-take next year in our high stakes 1.3billion Euros International Lottery. To begin your claim, please contact our fiduciary agent and Provide him with the information below:
1.Name:
2.Address:
3.Marital
Status:
4.Occupation:
5.Age:
6.Gender:
7.Nationality:
8.CountryofResidence:
9.Telephone
Number:
0.Fax
Number:
11.Draw Number
above:

There are many more such winning notices in the Spam which get deleted after every thirty days.

Now these are not only types of money offering notice. There are different types of notices from Africa, some lesser known European country (East Europe) or from the Pacific region.

I here reproduce an extract of a letter.


It reads;
We discovered an abandoned sum of$12,500,000.00 (Twelve Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars only) in an account that belongs to one of our customers who died along with his entire family a wife and two children in November 1999 in an auto crash.

After, sharing such a secret of the bank, the person will then try to take you in confidence and propose and deal in such manner that it will be aimed to convincing you that you would pull out this whole affair without any problem.

Please "DO NOT FALL FOR SUCH TYPE OF DEALS" even if you are a NATWARLAL'S Grand Father.

Then there are messages from Sheikhs who are dying because of cancer and want to donate or transfer the money to some good soul. He would report that he has found your profile and believe that you are a good person and want you to inherit his money.


I can reproduce a large number of messages which keep on dropping into my mail box every.

I just suggest to the gullible internet user that they should not fall for that. No body is going to give you money for nothing. Do not get greedy.

It is good the Tribune had taken up this issue. One can not sue such type of people. They are located in foreign countries. Their addresses are a fake. Their computer identities are also tempered with. It is not easy to book them. It is not easy for common man to pursue against them. I dare to say that even our law machinery can not even touch them. The only remedy is to create awareness about such frauds. One should maintain his moral integrity then only he can save himself from such people.

I end this note by saying that do not fall for them. Remember "Dandha Hai Par Ganda Hai".

Secondly, it is good that the Tribune has given space to such reports.