Date: 11 March 2008 10:53:52
This morning I decided it was about time I checked that one of my e-mail accounts was still "live" as I hadn't used it for months. To my surprise it was. To my greater surprise there was some mail awaiting my attention.
This is the content:
Pin No:9387001
Serial No:5388/02
Attention: Lucky Winner,
We are happy to announce that you are one of our Lucky Four(4)
Star Prize Winner in this months edition of UK National Lottery
held on 6th March, 2008 in England. This makes you
a proud owner of sum of 950,000.00 GBP. It is important that you
acknowledge your receipt of this correspondence.
To proceeds with the claiming of your winnings, contact the claims
agent with the information below via email or telephone:
Mr. David Bucks
Email: uknlfoundation12@hotmail.com
Tel: +44 701 112 1877
*********************
Wow! I'm nearly a millionaire! But am I? How did this emailer - with an Indian sounding name and an address at Ohio State University - osu.edu (I recognised it as I used to have a job which involved dealing with American universities) get hold of an address I rarely use and only about 10 people know and which is as sensible as the equivalent of "Genuine White Elephant"@hotmail.com?
Why were there at least 6 mistakes in such an "important" communication?
Why does this well-known lottery have a hotmail account?
There's something funny about the phone number - it starts off ok and then isn't a normal London number or one with any other code I recognise.
And the contact name has to be some sort of joke - Mr. David Bucks - about as subtle as calling him Mr David Quids-in. (I also noted that there was a fullstop after Mr - not my preferred punctuation - (I might treat you to a post on this subject some other time!) - and a form which is used here in the UK but more commonly in the US.
Most importantly, I don't play the lottery - I know miracles can happen but I don't think the National Lottery will be coughing up a million quid to someone who hasn't even invested a pound in their business. The reality is more likely to be some fraudster wanting to get hold of my little pot of savings kept for a rainy day. Well, sorry chum. It rains a lot here in England and I'll be needing it. You'll have to find someone else to fund your luxury lifestyle.
The dishonesty of some people is simply breathtaking.