Got an email today saying I was a consolation winner in a powerball draw from an office in Eng. Is this real?
413849
:)) "Consolation Prize Winner "!!!!\nYou win a prize for NOT winning the lottery!!!\nScamalicious!\n\nYou will have to pay fees...the fees cannot be withdrawn from the winnings because the winnings do not exist\n\nI would be willing to bet $25,000,000 that you didnt buy a ticket.\n\nLotterys work like this:\n1)10,000 people pay 1 dollar/euro/pound/yen....etc\nThe lottery company now has 10,000\n\n2) the lottery company holds a draw and gives out 7,000 in winnings (and keeps the profit 3,000)\n\nScams work like this:\n-1)nobody pays money (there is no money to win)\n\n0)a scammer sends out 10,000 spam emails to tell people they have won a lottery they havn't entered.(they pretend they work for real lottery websites)\n\n2)The Scammer asks for your Personal details (be prepared! your inbox is going to be full of emails asking for you personally...and dont get me started on what they are gonna do with your Bank details!)\n\n3)The scammer tells you that you have to pay fees before you can accept the "winnings" (and NO,you cant pay out of the winnings! they dont exist!....silly maga)\n\n4)The scammer manages to con 3 people out of 1000 and gives all his profits to a charity for orphaned goats (he dosn't really...he keeps it ;) )\n\n5)Your inbox gets more mails than help@microsoft.com\nEverything from "You have won anotther sooperdooperlottry" to    "CHAN U B A NEXT OF KIN" to "Please join our company,cash our checks,send us the money until your bank realises you are laundering money for us?)\n\nThe moral of the story is...If it sounds too good to be true... It probably is
1007089
Lol.  No.  If any one of those lottery scams were true then I've won the English lottery about 10 times.  (I'm in America)
1157959
I got an email like this that was a scam. If you win a lottery they will not contact you like that. You can report the site but I can't remember the site I reported mine to but just type in scam lotteries and you will be directed to many sites. Just give them all the info you can.  Be carefull of your email.
255375
It's fraud man don't beleive them, I'll tell you something have u ever participated in an English Lottery contest or any linked thing?? I guess not, if they emailed you again just send them an email telling them to send you some of the money for you to go and receive your prize.
949168
I am not sure if it is a fishing page, but the name should give a clue to anyone that it is not legit.  If it were free lotto, then why would you have to pay to play? I tend to stay away from too good to be true web pages, just like the mail we used to get, if it is too good to be true, then it probably is.
493148
It is a scam.\nYou cannot have an international lottery as the gambleing laws differ in every country.\nThe scammers say it is "International" so as to cover every country.\nLotterys work like this:\n1)10,000 people pay 1 dollar/euro/pound/yen....etc\nThe lottery company now has 10,000\n\n2) the lottery company holds a draw and gives out 7,000 in winnings (and keeps the profit 3,000)\n\nScams work like this:\n-1)nobody pays money (there is no money to win)\n\n0)a scammer sends out 10,000 spam emails to tell people they have won a lottery they havn't entered.(they pretend they work for real lottery websites)\n\n2)The Scammer asks for your Personal details (be prepared! your inbox is going to be full of emails asking for you personally...and dont get me started on what they are gonna do with your Bank details!)\n\n3)The scammer tells you that you have to pay fees before you can accept the "winnings" (and NO,you cant pay out of the winnings! they dont exist!....silly maga)\n\n4)The scammer manages to con 3 people out of 1000 and gives all his profits to a charity for orphaned goats (he dosn't really...he keeps it ;) )\n\n5)Your inbox gets more mails than help@microsoft.com\nEverything from "You have won anotther sooperdooperlottry" to "CHAN U B A NEXT OF KIN" to "Please join our company,cash our checks,send us the money until your bank realises you are laundering money for us?)\n\nThe moral of the story is...If it sounds too good to be true... It probably is\nSource(s):\n\nwww.fraudwatchers.org\nI spoke to Bill Gates lastnight and he knows nothing about it...honest...I did!\n\nEdit   Delete
44037
That is a scam.\n\nThere is a National Lottery in the UK but you have to have a physical paper ticket and turn up in person with the ticket to collect your winnings.\n\nhttp://www.national-lottery.co.uk/player/p/promotions/promotions.do?promo=commonscams\nThis type of scam is very common. Do no give them any details. Jsut delete the e-mail and ignore it.
589505
Unfortunately, NO.  If any body claims it's a free lottery, beware of frauds. I refer a site for your info: fraudwatch.com . Browse this site for extra info.  Goodluck
502264
This is a classic scam.  It's known as an advanced fee fraud.\n\nThe way it works is they send you a letter/email or phone you and say you've won a competition or lottery.  You're due a huge cash payout!! (with the exclamation marks and everything).  There is a fly in the ointment however as you have to pay a small handling fee/fedex charge/local tax.  It's never that onerous, although inexplicably it can't be paid out of your winnings.  You send your money through to them and they vanish.\n\nThe key questions to ask yourself are \n1)  Did I ever enter an online International Lottery?\n2)  Why can't the fee be paid out of the winnings?  Better yet have them pay the fee and keep 10% say as a 'handling charge' and send you the rest (it's still over 200k).  I bet they won't do it.\n\nSeriously though, if you have sent them money it's probably gone forever.  Your national law enforcement agency will probably be interested in this and you should probably let them know.\n\nIf you haven't sent them any money, great, keep your money in your pocket.
317194
Here's some signs of a lotto scam:\n\n*You never paid money or bought a ticket to enter.\n*Your "winning" notification is probably not personalized.\n*Your "winning" notification came by email, probably from a free email address such as yahoo.com or msn.com.\n\nIf you answer the email, after one or two email exchanges with the so-called "lottery officials" or "claims agent," perhaps accompianied by some official looking but fake documents, you'll be asked to pay fees for "taxes" or "handling" or some other reason. This is the scam - you pay the fees and never see any winnings, mainly because there are none to see.
481873
Hi I have just received an e-mail today from Scoop Lotto\nstating that an e-mail address drawing was done and that \nI have won a large amount of money. No they did not ask for a bank account I have not answered them yet and I also have been searching for the company My gut feeling is that it is a scam.
788050
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. It sounds like a scam to me. If you had really won money from a legitimate entity, they would contact you by the phone or more likely through certified mail. DO NOT reply to this email!
26388
Here is a list of all the phone number of the FAKE and PHONY UK Lottery Promotions:  (I repeat--these are a scam to take YOUR money)\n\nhttp://www.joewein.de/sw/419-phone-uk.htm
1164138
It is probably a scam.  DON'T give out any bank information.  DON'T pay anyone anything to get a "prize".  You can contact the people who notified you to investigate further, but BE VERY CAREFUL.  People use things like this to cheat people out of their hard-earned money.
1102778
No! There are many hoax e-mail messages (such as the one you are describing) on the Internet, claiming that Microsoft or some other company will reward anyone who forwards the message to as many people as possible. Always ignore these messages. No one gives money to anyone for the hell of it and you cannot win a lottery you did not buy a ticket for. That's the basic rule of any lottery.\n\nIf you ever get messages that promise you of unbelievable riches, do not believe them. If you get a message from someone you do not know, do not open it and do not read it. Delete the message.
514153
I am sorry to advise you it is a scam. Ask yourself. Did you buy a ticket, do you have a proof that you have a ticket with winning number? When did you go to South Africa to buy a ticket?? And they would have called you.\n\nIf you just got an email.. and they write back for more info from you.. you know you on a way to be robbed. DO NOT GIVE ANY DETAILS> No one knows who wins a LOTTO till the person with a ticket goes to the LOTTO themselves.
212994
If you are talking about e-mail you are recieving, it is probably spam.  However, you can find information on the UK National lottery through the link below.