I won another lottery! I’ve actually stopped counting, and I don’t publish every congratulation email I get, since very many of them are clones of eachother, only sent to my different puplicly available email addresses. But this one is special. It is very explicit, and even came with a registration form, official looking, with a fake waterstamp and complete with barcode and all. (There’s a link to it at the bottom of this page.)
It’s just another scam of course. And published here to help others to see that it is, before they start sending in registration fees to the scammers.
Here goes. The notification that I won the El Gordo de la Primitiva. (I’m so rich!)
From: donmarlop@yahoo.com
Subject: AWARD NOTIFICATION FINAL NOTICE
Date: February 17, 2005 18.01.12 MET
To: [a publicly posted address]@lindqvist.com
Reply-to: santaluciaseguro@netscape.net
Apartado de Correos 529
17/02/05
28085, Madrid-ESPAÑA.
TEL: 0034 6 /3016 5561
REF: EUS/0207859035/03
BATCH: 27/4424/AIPC
ATTENTION: BENEFICIARYEL GORDO DE LA PRIMITIVA AWARD NOTIFICATION FINAL NOTICE
We are pleased to inform you of the release of the EL GORDO DE LA PRIMITIVA LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS PROGRAMMES held on the 20TH DEC, 2004.
Your name was entered as a dependent client with REFERENCE Nº: EUS/0207859035/03 and BATCH Nº: 27/4424/IPC. Should there be any discrepancy in your name and address, please contact ESTRELLA SEGUROS S.A.Your name attached to ticket number:0016-359142-07 with serial number:52201-61drew the lucky winning numbers : 14-26-27-40-42-48. Which subsequently, won the lottery in the second category. You have therefore been approved for a winning payment of €960,000.00 (NINE HUNDRED AND SIXTY THOUSAND, EUROS In cash credited to file claims number: FGL/2002365214/MD/03. This is from a total cash prize of Euros 17,368,770.00 (SEVENTEEN MILLION, THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTY EIGHT THOUSAND, SEVEN HUNDRED AND SEVENTY EUROS ) Shared among seventeen international winners in this category. Congratulations!!!Your fund is now deposited with a security company insured to your name. Due to mixed up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep this award from public notice until your claim has been processed and your money remitted to your nominated account as this is a part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming or unwarranted taking advantage of this program by participant
All participants were selected through a computer ballot system and sponsored by MAPFRE MARKETING S.L. drawn from 25,000 (TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND), names from Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and North America as part of our international promotions programme which we conduct once every year. We hope that with a part of your prize you will take part in our end of year high stake €1.3 billion international lottery.
To begin your claim, please contact: ABERLADO LUCAS Foreign Operations Manager of ESTRELLA SEGUROS S.A on TEL:+34-635 047 975,&FAX:+34-635 248-142. processing and remittance of your prize money to a designated account of your choice. Remember that all prize money must be claimed not later than 30TH FEB, 2005. After this date all funds will return to the MINISTERIO DE ECONOMIC Y HACIENDA as unclaimed.
CLAIM´S REQUIREMENT:PHOTOCOPY OF IDENTITY&TAX CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE.
NOTE:In order to avoid unnecessary delay and complication if there is any changes of your address, please do inform your claims agent, please remember to quote your reference number and batch number at every of your correspondence with us or your claims agent. And we hope that you will participate in our end of year high stake award. Enclose with this is a prize claim processing form.
Congratulations once again and thank you for been a part of our international promotions programme.
NOTE: Contact your claim agent during working hour from 8AM to 9PM SPANISH TIME.Sincerely,
MARIA LOPEZ
PRIZE CLAIM TRACK. (VICEPRESIDENT):………………
Nº: 9540772140
Enclosed was a Word-document, complete with barcode and all, very official looking, and you might download it here (if you aren’t afraid of unscanned word docs that is).
Added May 22, 2007: Groupama Insurances now has a notice on their site stating that ”these [email messages] are not genuine letters and anyone receiving such correspondence should not respond or provide the personal details requested”. The notice is posted since Groupama Insurance’s Spanish subsidary Groupama Seguros is mentioned in several flavours of the El Gordo Primitiva lottery scams. Groupama Insurances also urges any recepients of these emails or letters to them immediately via customer.service@groupama.co.uk and send the original letter to:
Stephen Teeling
Technical Claims Controller
1 Port Way
Port Solent
Portsmouth
Hampshire
PO6 4TY
That’s some good advice. It’s when the big corporations get involved, we have a chance to really do anything about these scammers.