Lottery Winners Involved in New Email Fraud in the UK
Email fraudThe names of Gillian Bayford and her husband Adrian from Tayside, who won GBP 148 million jackpot two years ago, are currently used in an email deception.
The gambling news continues with the email description, which says that a significant amount will be donated to “five lucky individuals” who are “eligible for a grant.”
Also, the mail declares that it is send from Tim Harcourt, an Australian economist on the family’s behalf. It continues with Mr Bayford’s quote: “I and my wife won a jackpot lottery of 148 million pounds in the ongoing Euromillion (sic) Lottery held in August 2012. Presently we are in India to see one of our charity homes.”
It carries on: “However, we voluntarily decided to donate the sum of 800,000 Great British pounds sterling to you as part of our Adrian and Gillian Bayford charity project to improve the lot of five unknown lucky individuals all over the world, plus 10 close friends and family. We have tried contacting you since last year but we could not reach you.”
The fake email seems to be carefully prepared
Even links to news articles about Bayford’s win were attached in the mail. The fraud organization used various smart strategies to make the mail look as authentic as possible. The email is also signed off with “Best of luck” and “God bless you”.
Recipients of the mail were instructed to pay a transaction fee of GBP 110 in order to receive their “grant” – but of course the grant money will never arrive to people’s accounts.
