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Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Malilong: One kind of scam
By Frank Malilong
The Other Side
I could be the richest person this side of the earth this Christmas if I were to believe the “notifications” I received through the e-mail during the last seven days. Hear this:
On Dec. 7, I was “notified” by FreeLotto@FreeLotto.com that I won 800,000 euros as “consultation prize” in the raffle draw conducted by Complete Solution Ltd., in its international corporate office in “The Manchester, England.” The purpose of the lottery draw, it said, was to “encourage the use of the Internet for academic and business pursuits.”
On the same day, I received a similar advice from chelsea.chilly@virgin.net that I won US$250,000 in a lottery sponsored by Samerica Charitable Firm in Delft, Holland. She said the funds were raised from contributions by “charity-minded institutions and non-government organizations in the European community.”
Two days after, it was the turn of maureen.mauns@virgin.net to inform me that I won another US$250,000, this time from Cutey Humanitarian Project, still based in Delft, Holland. She said that 10 percent of my “winnings” should be used to fund a “selfless activity” in my community.
I must be a favorite of the virgins because on Dec. 12, I got another mail from sandra.jackson@virgin.net that I also won US$250,000 in the raffle conducted by The Gardener Humanitarian Project, also based in Holland. Again, I was asked to set aside 10 percent for community projects.
That same day, JuanLopez53@walla.com wrote for assistance to move US$6.5 million to the Philippines, promising to pay me 30 percent as commission which he will place in an account with my next of kin as beneficiary.
In all the letters, I was asked to reply immediately otherwise my “prize” would be forfeited. Unlike in the three other letters I earlier received and wrote about here, there was no request for me to keep my good luck confidential.
Now, who would give that much money to someone he does not even know? How can you win a lottery that you did not even join? Only crackpots or the criminal mind could have authored these letters. There can be no other explanation.
This kind of scam has been going on for years, said Virginia Ancajas Ballas, writing from Portland, Oregon. “Funny, how some people could fall for this obvious scam.”
When you reply, they will ask you to send them a check to cover processing cost and attorney’s fees, said Ms. Ballas. The amount is not really that much, ranging from ten to a hundred dollars.
“But what they really want,” she says “is information on your bank account. Once they get the check, they will empty every dime you have in the bank.”
If that’s the case, then they have chosen the wrong victim because my bank account has long been empty. Those with fat bank accounts, beware.
(fmmalilong@yahoo.com)
(December 14, 2005 issue)
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