Microsoft customers are often targets of lottery fraud (also known as lottery scams), which use fake e-mail messages that claim that the recipient has won “The Microsoft Lottery.”

There is no Microsoft lottery and if you receive this kind of e-mail it has been sent by criminals in an attempt to steal money from you.

Lottery fraud is a form Advance Fee Fraud (AFF), a crime that tricks victims into paying money in advance for a fictitious gift or cash prize.

These frauds usually start with an e-mail message that says that you’ve won a prize or a lottery (perhaps one from a foreign country) that you might not remember entering.

In order to access the fictitious prize, criminals might ask you to pay a sum of money in advance to cover costs such as tax fees, courier services, United Nations clearance checks, attorney fees, and many others. These criminals often seem believable, and their methods are very creative. They use well-known company brands and personalities such as Microsoft and Bill Gates to lend credibility and authenticity to their e-mails.

For more information, check out:

http://www.microsoft.com/security/lottery/whatis.mspx

HTH,

Tom

Thomas W Shinder, M.D., MCSE
Sr. Consultant / Technical Writer
Prowess Consulting www.prowessconsulting.com
PROWESS CONSULTING documentation | integration | virtualization
Email: tshinder@isaserver.org
MVP — Forefront Edge Security (ISA/TMG/IAG)