There’s no such thing as a Skype lottery

Lottery scammers are going the old-fashioned route with a new “Skype World Wide Lottery 2008” ploy: They’re mailing letters to would be targets. Actual mail, not e-mail. First, reported in the Skype forums and followed up on the FaceTime Security Labs blog, the mailed letter claims the recipient won 1.7 million Euros in a lottery sponsored by Skype, Adidas, MasterCard, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and British Telecom. Of course, to claim the prize one must fill out a dubious form and e-mail it to the lottery manager. Once verified, the winner will be directed to a bank where the money is deposited. Most people should smell scam right away. Interesting that the Skype name was used as a lure. While huge in tech circles, I don’t think the general public is highly aware of the name. Adding the other big corporations helps, but either way, no one should be falling for this. -Jason Meserve