Consumer Fraud Reporting
BMW Lottery
Reporting on the Latest Frauds, Scams, Fake Lotteries, Spams and Hoaxes

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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 BMW 7 Series 2007 Saloon Car
from Mrs. Lisa Jefferson or Sir. Tony Ray

Did you receive a letter or email from "MRS. LISA JEFFERSON, THE DIRECTOR PROMOTIONS, BMW LOTTERY DEPARTMENT" saying you won a new BMW and to contact "Sir. Tony Ray"? This scam attempt is pathetic. 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. Lisa Jefferson or Sir. Tony Ray. And isn't it just a bit odd, that "Mrs. Lisa Jefferson" signs her name "Carl A. Harrison" and chooses to have a photo of her in a cocktail dress at a party on a business email?

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 SirTonyRay@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

AUTOMOBILE BMW ANNUAL PROMO <sir.tonyray@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
Date: 22 Mar 2007 08:27:16 -0500
Subject: CONGRATULATION WINNING BMW GROUP ANNUAL PROMOTION....!!!
From: AUTOMOBILE BMW ANNUAL PROMO <s ir.tonyray@yahoo.co.uk >

 
                                                                               
                                                                                                      
           BMW GROUP ANNUAL PROMOTION.
 
 
 
PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT,
BMW Automobiles
22 Garden Close, Stamford, Lincs, PE9 2YP, London
United Kingdom.
                                                                                                       Date: 22nd/ march/ 2007

 
                                                                                                            Attention: Beneficiary (Winner),

This is to announcely inform you that you have been selected for a Brand New BMW 7 Series 2007 Saloon Car  more also Winning Cash Prize of £1,000.000 (One Million Great British Pounds GBP) from the BMW Annual e-LOTTERY BONANZA International programme held on JANUARY 2007, in London United Kingdom.
 
The selection process was carried out through random selection in our computerized E-mail Selection System (ESS) from a database of over 250,000 email addresses drawn from all the continents of the world which you were selected as the lucky winner/ Beneficiary of 2007 BMW lottery ballot promotions.

The BMW e-Lottery is inaugurately approved by the British Gaming-Ballot Board and also Licensed by the The International Association of Gaming-Ballot Regulators (IAGBR).
 
This promotional lottery is the 3rd of its kind and we intend to sensitize the public of this Annual lottery programme.

To begin the processing of your winning prize you are to contact our Fiduciary Claims Department for more information as regards procedures to claim your prize.
================================================================
 
PUBLIC RELATIONS,
(CONTACT EVENTS AGENT MANAGER)
Sir. Tony Ray

E-mail: sir.tonyray@yahoo.co.uk  
 

Tel: +44-703 590 1604
Fax: +44 (709) 288 5806
 
You are to contact your Claims Agent on or before your date of Claim, Winners Shall be paid in accordance with his/her Settlement Centre.
BMW 7 Series 2007 Saloon Car  more also Winning Cash Prize of £10,000.000 (Ten million Great British Pounds GBP)  must be claimed no later than 15 days from date of Draw Notification after the Draw date in which Prize has won.Any prize not claimed within this period will be forfeited
================================================================
These are your identification numbers:
                                 Get ed traffic to your web site! 
Batch number.....................YM 09102XN
Ref number.......................YM35447XN
Winning number...................YM09788
 
You are also advised to provide him with the under listed informations as soon as you have been notify of your winning prize.
 
VERIFICATION/ PROCESSMENT PURPOSE:

1.Name in full.----------------------------
2.Address.-------------------------------
3.Nationality.-------------------------
4.Age.-------------------------------
5.Occupation.----------------------
6.Telephone Number.------------
7.Fax [optional].------------
8.Private E-mail:-------------
9.Next of Kin:------------------
10.Short comment on our products. [optional]. - -----------
 
==================================================================
Please you are to provide him with the above listed details as soon as possible so he can begin with the processing of your prize winnings.
 
Congratulations once again from all our staffs and thank you for being part of our promotional programme.
 
Congratulations!! once again.
Yours in service,
                   
  
MRS.  LISA JEFFERSON
THE DIRECTOR PROMOTIONS
BMW PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
UNITED KINGDOM.

 


  

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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