E-mail fraud scam promises lottery winnings

Watch out for unsolicited e-mails informing you that you have won a substantial sum of money. These e-mails originate from persons who represent themselves as associates of various lottery corporations. They ask you to keep the winnings confidential and to contact an agent at a specified web address or telephone number. This agent will then attempt to persuade you to send a “security” payment in order to be eligible to claim the prize winnings. A surprising number of people fall prey to such solicitations, and lose large sums of money.