New lottery fraud online

Hyderabad: If you’ve got an email from Samsung company, stating you won crores of rupees in lottery, best to ignore it or report it to police. For the latest entrant in the lottery scam is the British Samsung Award, which dupes internet users convincing them that they have won an award of Rs 3.6 crore.

Cybercrime cops say that it’s a continuation of the notorious Nigerian lottery fraud. Since such cases have been reported by media several times, the fraudsters are moving ahead with new names and techniques.

The spam email says that the user has been selected through a computer ballot system drawn from nine hundred thousand emails from various countries. Several people in city have received the emails and cybercrime sleuths have cautioned receivers against responding to the email. Instead they have asked people to report those to the cops.

The email begins with: “This is to inform you that your Email has won (3.6 CRORES RUPEES) from the Samsung Mobile Company United Kingdom which is organised by Samsung Mobile Company in conjunction with Chevron Texaco Oil and Gas Company.”

It asks for personal details for further correspondence. “If any user replies with the details, the crooks convince them that the money is being dispatched from UK, but for the transaction of that money through the Indian banks and other departments, the user has to pay some amount as different charges. The crook will loot lakhs and lakhs from user in various deposits from the victim,” said a cybercrime police official from Hyderabad CCS.

Cyber crooks, mainly from Nigeria, operate from Mumbai, Delhi, and Hyderabad. With the looted money, they export dress materials to their country. Three weeks ago, four Nigeria-ns residing in the city were caught by the police for cheating a B. Tech graduate in the na-me of Nigerian lottery.