Remember the time when you won a ridiculous amount of money from a Casino you’d never heard of, much less visited?
Me neither, but as it turns out it doesn’t really matter when dealing with the wacky world of email spam – where winnings are often plentiful despite not actually taking part:
Going by the wonderfully informative title of “Re: jqwnfm” (which is designed to make you think “Ooh, I wonder what that is that I’ve replied to…”), the missive reads as follows:
Dear Email User,Congratulations!!!!" You have won £3000.000.00 from SilverSands Casino Online Promotions"
We wish you success in our SilverSands Casino Online Promotions /Email Internet Program held in Republic of South Africa Announcement made today, Your Email Address was attached to Reference No: 04 08 09 11 36 50, Drew the Lucky winning No 11- 15 -16 -19 -22 -03 from 800,000 Email Addresses consequently won in the 1st Category. You have therefore Been Approved to claim a Star Prize of £3000.000.00 Three Million Pounds in cash credited to Power Ball No: 23 25-30-45-50-MB/2016. Payable through our Paying Agent in South Africa.
Below are your winning details for claiming Winning Reference No: 04 08 09 11 36 50 Lucky winning No: 11- 15 -16 -19 -22 -03 Power Ball No: 23 25-30-45-50-MB/2016. Amount Won: £3000,000.00
To claim Your Winning Prize Contact Mrs. Rachel Johnson Claim Director in our Paying Bank in South Africa for Immediate Release of your fund.
Contact Person: Mrs. Rachel Johnson Telephone: Email:pprocentersa@[redacted]
You are hereby advice to Contact Mrs. Rachel Johnson for your claim and send your information below with your winning details immediately via email to process your payment.
1.Your Full Name: 2.Your Postal or Residential Address: 3.Country: 4.Direct Mobile: 5.Age: 6.Gender: 7.Occupation: 8.Reference No: 9.Alternative Email:
This Program is Sponsored and Supported by South African Lotto Authority.
Congratulations'' Once again from all our Staff and thank you for being part of our Promotions Program.
Yours Truly, Promotion Manager SilverSands Online Promotions South Africa
I know what you’re thinking – this sounds like a load of old nonsense. And you’d be right – it IS a load of old nonsense. Should you reply to the above, you’ll likely either by parted with your money via wire transfer (wave goodbye to it forever, you won’t be getting it back) or turned into a money mule which is a sudden deepdive into illegality. At the very least, the scammers will be able to make use of all the personal information you’ve sent them, so that movie line about winning moves and not playing is most definitely the best course of action.
Christopher Boyd
