What Is The Microsoft Lottery Fraud?
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.
These e-mail messages are designed to engage you in a dialogue with the goal of persuading you to send them money. Once you've sent the money, the perpetrator will often re-contact you with a different story to convince you to pay more money to access the cash prize.
Lottery fraud is an international crime perpetrated by criminals who operate from all over the world and target victims in various countries. Because of a lack of resources and international jurisdiction, it is difficult for national law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute these crimes.
To assist national law enforcement agencies, Microsoft works with other companies whose brands or services are abused by criminals, as well as international law enforcement, to gather and analyze data on lottery scam victims across the world and provide global law enforcement agencies with the intelligence they need to prosecute scammers.
Read more about what Microsoft is doing to stop lottery fraud.
Tips to help protect against lottery scams
| • | Remember, if you haven’t entered a lottery, it’s unlikely that you’ve won it. |
| • | Microsoft Corporation does not conduct cash lotteries. |
| • | If you receive an e-mail that claims to be from a well-known company that says that you’ve won a lottery, be very wary. Never part with money in advance. |
| • | Be aware that once you lose money to a lottery fraud, the criminals are very likely to re-contact you under a new pseudonym, or with a different story, to trick you into handing over more money. |
| • | Be cautious if you receive a check and then are asked to repay part of the amount. Legitimate companies will not ask you to do this. |
| • | Be suspicious if you are asked by people you don’t know to send money to them by wire transfer. While wire transfers are quick and efficient, unlike bank transfers they are difficult to trace and cannot be reversed. |
| • | If an e-mail sounds too good to be true, it probably is. |
| • | Never part with money under suspicious circumstances. |
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