Nordic SMS Lottery – a scam

Many thanks to Rashad Zeed Alali Aldaher who submitted this mail about the ”Nordic SMS Lottery” allegedly sent by the Nordic Lottery payment Office, as a comment to the running thread about the very similar, and probably related Gotenborg SMS Lottery scam.

A few points worth mentioning:

  1. There is no such organisation as the Nordic Lottery payment Office.
  2. The phone number stated, +46- 704051742 is an unlisted prepaid mobile phone. the only reference that I can find to it is in the reports on similar lottery scams, reported on this site.
  3. The only legal lotteries of this scale conducted  in Sweden are indeed run by the government gambling monopolies, but the tax is always deducted from any winnings in advance.

At least, it is very clear what the scammers are after in this case. However, it is not at all certain that they are really based in Sweden. The number could very well be forward connected to any number throughouth the world.

Kungsgatan 112

S-90187 Umea,

Sweden

Name: Interbank payment service

Foreign Remittance Department:

Dear Rashad Zeed Alali Aldaher

You are welcome to the Nordic Lottery Payment Office an affiliate of

the Nordic SMS Lottery. I am pleased to be at your service and you

have been officially cleared for payment by the Verifications Department

at the headquarters of the Nordic SMS Lottery.

The original copy of your winning certificate, together with a covering

document (Money Laundering protection and Letter of Affidavit for

Claims) stating that the money was obtained

legally through the Nordic SMS Lottery is ready and has been sent

to the tax agency for processing

With regards to you collecting your money, it would be required for you

to either come over to Sweden to collect your money in person, office hours is

between 10 am and 4 pm monday to friday and on saturday 10 am to 2 pm,

you are also advised that you should notify us of your arrival, so we

will send our staff to come pick you at the airport, secondly on

arrival, you are required to pay a tax fee to the Tax Agency that would issue a tax clearance to

us and also issue an approval for the money to be given

to you, the tax fee is 13,775 Swedish Krona, you are advised to come with that

amount so you will pay to the Tax agency.

But if you are not able to come over to Sweden, then I would advise that

you contact the Tax Agency and find a way of send the money to

the them for the approval to be issued and we will collect the

tax clearance, then we will either make a bank transfer

of the money to you or we will send a bank cheque to you through a

courier company ( DHL or UPS ), but you will notify us of the best way

you would prefer the money been sent to you.

I know you would have prefer that the tax fee be deducted from the

amount you won, but your prize is protected by a hardcover insurance

policy, which makes it impossible to deduct any amount from the money

before it has been remitted to you. This means that no charges can be

deducted from the prize and hence must be provided by you before your

prize is transferred to you, and secondly you are the only person that

is liable to receive the money and not until the approval is received

from the tax office, the money cannot be transferred or deducted.

This is in accordance with section 13(1) (n) of the national gambling

act as adopted in 1993 and amended on 3rd July 1996 by the

constitutional assembly. This is to protect winners and to avoid

misappropriation of funds

Also be reminded that the deadline for the claiming of winnings is

exactly two weeks after the receipt of this email. After this period,

your cash prize will be deemed to have been forfeited by you and will be

reused in the drawings of the next edition of the lottery.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Good luck and Congratulations once again.

Regards,

Mr. John Palsson

Head of Payment Office

+46- 704051742

Many thanks to Rashad Zeed Alali Aldaher who submitted this new lottery scam as a warning to others.