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Sample Promotion Prize Scam Email:
The Promotion Department BMW Automobiles
This is to inform you that you have been selected for a prize of a brand new YEAR: 2006, MODEL: 550i M Sport Saloon Car
Did you receive a letter or email from "Mrs. Jenifer Mary, THE
DIRECTOR PROMOTIONS, BMW LOTTERY DEPARTMENT" saying you won a new BMW? If you
believe that, can we interest you in some swampland in Florida? Or perhaps
you'd like to buy the Brooklyn Bridge? It's the old fake promotion scam, in
which a new BMW is given away to someone, from a "random selection in our computerised email selection system from a database of over 250,000 email
addresses drawn from all the continents of the world"... and you, we and
no one we know has ever heard of this promotion. You'd think that if a
luxury car manufacturer started a promotion give away cars, we'd
hear of it? After all, isn't that the point of a promotion, publicity.
Well, it is a moot point, as there is no Mrs. Jenifer Moore (if
there were, she'd know to spell Jennifer correctly),
and it is obvious that it is a scam, and truly one that will only trap total
morons.
This is a very simple scam. They claim you won a
promotion, which is giving away millions of dollars based on a randomly selected
email address. The scam is obvious: it's simply preposterous to think that
any company would randomly give away money to encourage you to buy lottery
tickets. That would be self-defeating.
Although the most important clue is that no legitimate lottery,
and almost no legitimate sweepstakes or promotions will email a winner, there are many other signs that this is a fraud.
We have
highlighted some of these in the email below, not the least
of which are:
-
Email address ballot: There is no such thing as a
"computerised email selection system". No one, not even
Microsoft has a database of email addresses of the type or magnitude they
suggest.
-
Terrible spelling, punctuation, syntax and grammar - Scammers
apparently don't know how to use spell checkers. We assume they
dropped out of school before that class. They use almost excessive and random CapItaLiZAtion.
They often can't even spell "February" or know that "22th" ought to
be "22nd". These scammers usually write at the 3rd grade level.
Being non-native English speakers, they also often get first names and
surnames (last names reversed), so you will frequently see names like "Mr.
SMITH JAMES.", instead of "Mr. James Smith", along with the peculiar usage
of periods (full stops) and spaces or the lack thereof.
-
Using free email account: The scammer is writing to
you from a FREE email account (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.). Don't you think
that BMW has its own website and domain for email (example
Helmut.D.Hun@BMW.com) and
would use its own email, its own domain and website? Wouldn't they want to
promote that?
-
What are they promoting? Pause fopr just a
moment to consider, how would randomly giving away a new BMW to someone,
simply because they have an email address, help to sell BMW's or create
publicity? It wouldn't. In fact, it might be one of the dumbest ideas
going, since to be eligible you don't even have to have a driver's license
or even visit a BMW showroom!
-
Pay a fee to collect the prize: Nope, it is illegal
for free sweepstakes and promotions to charge you ANYTHING! Of course, in a
scam, that is the whole point: to get you to send money to the scammer.
-
Did you notice that "LINCS" (Lincolnshire) is now a
borough of London? That might be of interest to more than a few people in
the East Midlands...
It is a typical scam sweepstakes winning notification. Also
see these pages:
Sample scam email
From: BMW AUTOMOBILE COMPANY
Sent: Saturday, December 29, 2007 5:04 AM
Subject: FROM THE DESK OF THE PROMOTION AGENT
FROM THE DESK OF THE PROMOTION AGENT
BMW AUTOMOBILE COMPANY.
22 Garden Close, Stamford, Lincs, PE9 2YP , London United Kingdom.
Reference Number: BMW: 2551256003 /23
Dear Winner
This is to inform you that you have been selected
for a prize of a brand new YEAR: 2006, MODEL: 550i M Sport Saloon Car from
International programs held on the 28th of December 2007 in the UK.
The selection process was carried out through
random
selection in our computerized email selection system (ESS) from a database
of over 250,000 email addresses drawn from all the continents of the world
which you were selected.
The BMW Lottery is approved by the British Gaming
Board and also Licensed by the International Association of Gaming
Regulators (IAGR).
To begin the processing of your prize you are to
contact our fiduciary claims department for more information as regards
procedures to claim your prize.
Name: Greg Wallas
Email:
bmwlottery.office@yahoo.co.uk
Contact him by please providing him with your secret
pin code Number
BMW: 2551256003/23.
You are also advised to provide him with the under
listed information as soon as possible:
1. Name in full.
2. Address.
3. Nationality.
4. Age.
5. Occupation.
6. Phone/Fax.
7. Present Country.
8. Email address.
Mrs. Jenifer Mary
THE DIRECTOR PROMOTIONS
BMW LOTTERY DEPARTMENT
UNITED KINGDOM.
YEAR: 2006, MODEL: 550i M Sport Saloon
Names of Scam / Fake / Fraud Lottery
Click here for the huge list of the names of the currently identified lottery
scams companies
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