Congratulations! You’ve won the Facebook lottery!
At least, that’s what the following email claims.
The email says that you can turn up in person at an address in London to claim your prize, but you will have to confirm your identity and eligibility.
If you don’t want to visit London, then you can choose to pay a mere ?385 to have the necessary paperwork couriered to you.
for your convenience, we can have your Facebook Claim Paper Work sent to you via our contracted Courier Service for signing and then send back to us to effect immediate release of your Winning. But note that you are to bear courier charges of this option which attracts the sum of ?385 British Pound, only to be paid if you decide to settle for the Facebook Claim Paper Work to be sent to you via our contracted Courier Service. Please note that the ?385 British Pound courier charges includes insurance and tax fees, as the paper work in question is highly confidential and needs to be insured for safety measures.
Hmm.. So, you’ve won a lottery but the company awarding you the prize won’t stretch to having something couriered to you? Never mind! It’s sure to be covered by your prize winnings, right?
Although the phone number given in the email looks, to the casual observer, to go to a UK mobile phone it actually could be redirected anywhere in the world. The 0770 number is registered with British firm Cloud9, which offers international mobile services.
In short, you think you’re phoning Facebook in London – but the phone could be being picked up by Fabian in Nairobi.
If you do call that number, chances are that you will be asked to share personal information and perhaps even conned into paying a fee in advance for the paperwork to be couriered to you.
In short, it’s a scam. You never entered a Facebook lottery – so why do you think you’ve won one? Remember – you cannot win a lottery you haven’t entered.
Lottery scams are not new, but they continue to occur because there are plenty of vulnerable people at risk of handing over their personal information or giving money to scammers in advance of their promised winnings.
Make sure that you keep informed about the latest scams spreading fast across Facebook and other internet attacks. Join the Sophos page on Facebook, where over 140,000 people regularly share information on threats and discuss the latest security news.
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