10 million euros – yes, we almost have that in the bag!

How a lack of money saved me from disaster.

It's about the 10 million euros we won in the UK National Lottery. Quite apart from the fact that we really have no idea who among us took part in this lottery, we are really looking forward to winning.

The check is apparently already on its way and is in a small package. We know this from the email in which the winning notification warbles happily at us:

Good day to you,

We have been waiting for you to
contact us for your long-term, existing package that has been registered with us for shipping to your
location.
We had thought that the UK National Lottery Promotion had given you our contact details to contact us, it
may interest you to note that a letter
has been added to your package but we cannot email the entire contents,
however We understand that the package itself contains a winning bank
cashier's check worth €10,000,000.00 Euro {€10Million Euro}

The whole thing poses a small annoying problem because our package is somehow stuck at Fedex. Great, what's this crap? What is Fedex doing now? What's the problem with not sending us the winnings? It was because of the millions….

This is what we read in the email:

You know, FedEx doesn't send money in cash, but bank drafts/
winning check are delivered.
The package is registered with us for delivery via the UK National Lottery Promotion.
We are sending you this email because your package has been registered on a special delivery order.
What you need to do now is
to contact our delivery department for immediate shipping of your package to your home address.
Please note that once our delivery team confirms your details, it will only
take one working day 24 hours for your package to reach the address you provided.
For your information, VAT, shipping and
insurance fees have been paid by the UK National Lottery
before your package has been registered.

Small fee

Ah, if you continue reading the rather long and complicated email, you'll see where the problem lies. All we have to do is transfer the €95 fees that have been incurred to Fedex.

Well, if Fedex says that, then it must be true. And if you then get 10 million euros, 95 € is a piece of cake:

must pay
a total security of €95 Euro to pay your package's security fee as shown on our privacy policy page before the
bank check of €10,000,000,
be delivered to your doorstep

Quickly empty your pockets and count the money... shit. A good €29 and 10 marks. That doesn't quite work.

But: trying makes sense. Why not just write to Fedex anyway, provide the desired data and then take action at the end. After all, I'll soon be a multi-millionaire, so something should work out.

In the further text of the email you ask for a few details:

Please contact the Delivery Department (FedEx Delivery Manager) with the
details
provided below:
FedEx Delivery Post Contact Person: Mrs..Stephanie Carter
Tel: +919742548652
Email: fedexdelivery*****@outlook.com

Please fill out the form below and send it to the
email address above.

Zack!

And filled in. Now send the whole number to the Fedex address provided (what, they have an Outlook account?) and wait. They will definitely get in touch.

And it actually didn't take that long before Fedex responded! Unfortunately, they really insist on this 95 €, but since I just took a lunch break and spent the 29 € on a schnitzel, a glass of elderberry spritz, and a few newspapers from various subversive scribes from Caesarea, I now have 10 marks left over.

No, that won't work. I guess Fedex won't agree to that. At least I think so, but I just asked if 10 marks would be enough.

But… what a miracle! Ms. Carter from Fedex has a good heart. In fact, she comes to me and offers that I should only pay €50. However, she must have misunderstood me somehow, because I only have 10 marks.

Hello Hans Dampf ,

Can you transfer 50 euros for the winning package?

Greetings

Ms. Stephanie Carter

I thought for a long time whether she would really respond to this. I mean, hey, it's a chocolate praline. CHOCOLATE! How can you say no to that? I was even more excited when someone actually answered and asked about the value of the note.

What, at Fedex they don't know the German mark? Actually a scandal, right? However, since according to the email Ms. Carter is in India, I was kind enough to convert the 10 marks into Indian rupees. Just for her <3

Unfortunately she didn't respond to this and so I ended the correspondence.

Enough with that!

No, of course there is nothing to win here. What you can clearly see is a form of scam, also known as advance payment fraud. Scams basically always work the same way, but there are different ways in which they occur. The Internet Watchlist describes scams as follows:

Criminals contact Internet users and demand advance payments from them for promised services. The promised benefits can be, for example, a large inheritance, a dream apartment or a payout of winnings. The perpetrators give numerous reasons why further payment of money is required. There is no promised compensation for this.

At the beginning of the scamming, criminals write to Internet users via social networks or by email. It is also possible for you to advertise cheap products or apartments on classified advertising platforms. Your goal is to get feedback from possible victims. In order for this to happen, they promise, for example, a high inheritance or very low-priced product offerings. Another possibility is the start of a supposed internet romance.

The victim reacts

As soon as the people addressed show a reaction, the criminals have achieved their first goal: they know that their counterpart actually exists. So that no suspicion arises, they tell something about themselves and ask the recipients to do the same. This is followed by a request to provide personal data, such as your own address, bank details or telephone number.

Demand for money was raised

As soon as the perpetrators know more about their possible victim, they demand money to be paid abroad. This should usually be done using cash transfer service providers such as Western Union or Moneygram. The reason for this is simple: this type of transfer allows criminals to receive the money immediately after the transfer. To do this, they request a copy of a payment receipt that contains all the information required to accept the money.

Reasons for demanding money

Depending on the type of advance payment fraud, the perpetrators can justify the first payment of money by saying that legal assistance has to be paid for the transfer of the inheritance, that interested parties have to pay a deposit for viewing the apartment or that they need financial support for a plane ticket they can visit their amorous acquaintances.

Further monetary payments necessary

When the victim makes the first monetary payment, the criminals have already enriched themselves financially: the promised rewards are not available in return. The criminals give further reasons why the recipients should transfer money abroad again. This could be, for example, contract establishment fees, problems with customs or financial support.

No end in sight

The criminals continue to demand monetary payments until the other person realizes that there is nothing in return. From this moment on they go into hiding and are no longer accessible to their victim. What remains is lost money. What makes matters worse is that the perpetrators have personal information about their victims. They can use this to commit crimes under other people's names.

Scamming explained graphically

What do you do in the event of damage?

If you come across scammers, immediately break off all contact with the perpetrators. Report the crime to the police and discuss what action is necessary to ensure that you do not suffer further harm. Check regularly - for example using a search engine - whether your data has been published on the Internet. If this is the case, write to the website operator and request that the entries be deleted.

Related Links:

• Watchlist Internet: This is how you can protect yourself from scams
• Watchlist Internet: If you have fallen for a scammer?*
• Watchlist Internet: Scamming

Source: Watchlist Internet