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December 06, 2004

I don't know why I continue to write for a pittance when I've already won two One Million Euro lotteries over the weekend. One was from The Netherlands, the other from Spain.

There must be plenty of folks out there who fall for these advance-fee scams because they keep coming. There is always some "mix up" of numbers and names, so the recipient must keep the "winning information" confidential. That, of course, is to prevent you from mentioning it to someone who will slap you across the kisser and yell "Snap out of it!"

These things work by tricking recipients into paying up-front fees and taxes to collect (not!) their winnings. The only money that changes hands is your money into their hands.

By the way, my winning "lucky star numbers" in the most recent one were: 34-32-90-43-32. A Google of that string yields page after page after page of various other reports of other "winners" receiving similar messages and identical lucky numbers—talk about your lucky numbers. It doesn't take much research to sniff out a scam.

Please, folks, Microsoft does not sponsor lotteries to promote the use of their products. Bill Gates doesn't give his money away via European lotteries. Even if multi-million euro lotteries existed (repeat after me: "They don't."), they wouldn't be using yahoo.com and netscape.com mailing addresses (sheesh!). And, if someone is going to award you a ton of cash without your prior participation, the message won't come to you via email, addressed to "Sir/Madam." It will come from the MacArthur Foundation or John Beresford Tipton.

Tell your emailing parents, grandparents, neighbors, and kids.