How to spot Internet lottery scams

Some of us are amazed that anyone could fall for an internet lottery scam but the truth is, scammers prey on people’s dreams. It’s your dream come true, to open a mail that says you’ve won the lottery. And as humans, we tend believe what we dream about.

It might seem sad, but to protect yourself on the internet you must start to be skeptical with everything you see. If it might be too good to be true, it probably is! Many of the victims of these schemes hadn’t thought to ask themselves the important question: if it really is true, how can I make doubly sure?

1. Did you even enter that lotto?
You can’t win a lotto you never entered.
2. Did they use your full name?
If it’s addressed to Dear Winner, the odds are they have no idea who you are.
3. Is it even a real lotto?
Never heard of the Australian State Lottery? Neither have I.  A quick check of the yellow pages online reveals it doesn’t exist.
4. Have they included a telephone number to contact them?
I am yet to see a scam lotto email that included this.
5. Do they ask for your bank details, or ask you to send them money to make your claim?
Run. Run a mile. This is the way most scams bleed their victims dry.
6. Who is the mail from?
Lotto companies do NOT use email addresses from Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail or any other free email service.
7. No, who is the mail really from?
Your email program will have a way to show either the mail’s sending details or the email header. What looked like it came from a legitimate address is actually from some free email address? Toss it out immediately.
8. If you get to point number 8 and they pass all the tests so far…
Ignore any contact information in the email, and use the yellow pages or your local directory book to find their contact information. Call them directly and ask. Tell them you received an email and want to know if it’s real. Most lotteries don’t send emails in the first place, and would have advised you by post or telephone. They’ll tell you if they really sent it.
9. Bonus tip: Never reply to a scam email at all. Don’t even reply to tell them to get lost. As soon as you do this, they know your email address is active and they’ll sell it to another spammer. Just delete the mail and move along.