Lottery
And the winner is....me! Yes, unbelievable but true. I have won the lottery. Now before you start writing letters congratulating me, there are a couple of things you need to know. First, statistically, the chances of me winning the lottery are smaller than those of being hit by a satellite falling from space. So basically I am too mean to cough cash based on those chances; slimmer than a catwalk model on a diet they are then substantially reduced by the fact that I don't actually play the lottery. Why not? Well, because the chances of me winning are, yes, less than being hit on the head by space debris. Okay, I admit it, I have played, I have been so tired and fed up with my job that I took the “someone-has-to-win” view and put monies into the hands of others. I even looked at the big-hitters, the numbers that come up most often on average and chose the six heaviest hitters. The Gods of Serendipity must have laughed themselves to sleep that night. Yes, you're right; not one single heavy-hitter struck home.
Oh Lucky Me
So, Oh lucky me, someone, whom I have never met and do not know put my name, together with the names of many others into the ring in a Spanish lottery; Loteria Primitiva. Now I would have found out earlier, but there was apparently a mix up over names and numbers. Imagine the joy on my face, my beaming eyes as I opened that envelope and read the words: Award Final Notification. I can't tell you the number for security reasons. Now all that stands between me, more than 8 million Euros and telling my boss to take his job and.....is the sending of a fax with my bank account details and my agreement to pay 10% of my winnings to a reputable insurance company. Not only that I have also won the El Loteria Gordo lottery and a couple of others to boot. I love Spain, now where is that fax button?
Don't Do it
Now before you tell me, “Don't do it, its a scam!”, you are right, its a scam. It is a scam, which is sad and disappointing, but even sadder, there are people out there that believe it is not a scam and send details of their accounts, which get sucked dry, or send cash ( you have to pay taxes, we need 10% of your winnings in order to convert the currency, etc.). We all want to believe that good things can happen to us too. The use of the names and letterheads of existing and reputable companies gives the whole thing an air of respectability, but anyone can copy those.
Dalai Lama
So, no I am not going to press that button, no worries please. I am going to suggest to you that, unless it is someone as well intentioned as HH the Dalai Lama, the chances of anyone who has never met you investing money in a lottery on your behalf, using your name (there is a clue here, lotteries use numbers not names) and then actually giving you the cash thereafter, are, well less than being hit by a satellite falling from space. Its a scam and its going on now and today some poor unsuspecting person will hand over their hard earned cash to these people. Please don't let it be you.
