A few years ago, elderly couple Allen & Violet Large won the lottery and collected a cool $11.2 million dollars.Instead of keeping their winnings all to themselves, they donated it to family members, charity groups and nearby businesses in their area.
While most of us simply appreciate idea that these folks chose to make such a generous decision to share their wealth with those around them, cybercriminals have decided to use the story as a gateway to yet another scam.
The scam starts off with an email similar to the one I received below:
From: Programa Jornal da Cultura (jornaldacultura@tvcultura.com.br)
Subject: Dear Lucky Winner….
I and my wife violet voluntarily decided to donate the sum of $500,000.00 USD to you as part of charity project to improve the lot of 10 lucky individuals worldwide.You can also verify the link below
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1326473/Canadian-couple-Allen-Violet-Large-away-entire-11-2m-lottery-win.html
Send Your
Name..
Telephone..
Age..
Country..
To our private email: allen.violet-large01@live.com and please do not reply to this jornaldacultura@tvcultura.com.br
Good luck,
Allen and Violet Large
[Update 10/31/12: It seems scammers have bumped up the offerings to $750,000.]
As you can see, the scammers decided to throw in a link to the legitimate article to help build credibility (assuming you don't read the date).
Of course, this email was not sent by Allen or Violet Large, but a scammer that’s looking to make a quick buck through an advanced fee scheme, collect confidential information to commit identity fraud, or maybe both.
Bottom line is, don’t reply to this email (or any others like it) and definitely do NOT provide your personal or financial information.
Photo Credit: Daily Mail Online
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