WARNING/BABALA
Protect yourself from Lottery Scam – Wala Pong Lottery si Senator Cynthia Villar
This is how it is done
An email, letter or text message from a lottery company arrives from out of nowhere. It will advise you that you have won a lot of money or fantastic prizes—in a lottery or competition you did not enter. Lottery scams will often use the names of legitimate lotteries, so that even if you do some superficial research, the scam will seem real.
The email, letter or text message you receive about your winnings will ask you to respond quickly or risk missing out. The scammers do this to try and stop you thinking about the surprise too much in case you start to suspect it could be a scam. You could also be urged to keep your winnings private or confidential, to ‘maintain security’ or stop other people from getting your ‘prize’ by mistake. Scammers do this to prevent you from seeking further information or advice from independent sources.
You will usually be asked to pay some fees to release your winnings. Scammers will often say these fees are for insurance costs, government taxes, bank fees or courier charges. The scammers make money by continually collecting these ‘fees’ from you and stalling the payment of your ‘winnings’. Some scammers may also be asked to provide personal details to ‘prove’ that you are the correct winner and to give your bank account details so the prize can be sent to you. Scammers will use these details to try to misuse your identity and steal any money you have in your bank account.
What you should do.
Do not send any money or pay any fee to claim a prize or lottery winnings.
Do not open suspicious or unsolicited emails (spam)—delete them.
Never reply to a spam email (even to unsubscribe).
Never call a telephone number that you see in a spam email.
Never respond to a text message which says you have won a competition that you did not enter.
Do not click on any links in a spam email, or open any files attached to them.
If it looks too good to be true—it probably is.
If you receive an email, letter or text message telling you that you’ve won a lottery or a sweepstakes prize—do not respond. Do not write back and do not send any money or personal details to the scammers. Providing personal details such as bank account details will make you vulnerable to having your identity stolen. You may have your bank account cleaned out or a loan taken out in your name. Responding to emails through internet links might also threaten your computer security through the use of spyware.
How do I report online scam in the Philippines?
Report Details of scammer: name, address, e-mail, Facebook link, contact number, etc.
Make a Brief description of the scam (describe how you scammed)
Attach supporting documents or photos of your conversation
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Tel. no.: (+632) 532-8231 to 532-8238 Website: https://nbi.gov.ph
Report to National Telecommunications Commissions Consumer Welfare and Protection Division (NTC CWPD) via landline number/s (02) 8920-4464, 8921-3251 and 8926-7722 or email addresscwpd@ntc.gov.ph. Visit http://ntc.gov.ph to know more
File your complaints or report incidents through the website www.pnpacg.ph, hotline number 7230401 local 5313 or e-mail at pnp.anticybercrimegroup@gmail.com.