# Warning - "Nigerian Scam" now has a lottery variant! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 12, 2002, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-nigerian-scam-now-has-a-lottery-variant/142309 "2002-12-12T19:32:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-nigerian-scam-now-has-a-lottery-variant/142309/1 "2002-12-12T19:32:35Z")
> [@](#): > > [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/scams/lottery.htm) > So far we’ve seen versions of this come in from “De Lotto Netherlands,” “Delotto Netherlands Sweepstakes Lottery,” “Diamond Lotto South Africa,” “Alpha Lottery International,” “Weltlotto-Firma WorldLotto/International Programs,” and “International Lotto Commission in collaboration with El Gordo de la Primitiva.” It’s all the same scam, though – that the ones running it change the names of the lotteries supposedly handing out the golden goodies and some of the backstories about why the lucky ones are suddenly in line to receive veritable boxcars of money for something they don’t remember entering is just part of the con. Before this has run its course (which might well be never), there will be hundreds of versions in existence, far, far too many for us to attempt to list here. > > Just as the more usual Nigerian scam uses the lure of big money to be had for little or no effort to hook the unwary, so too do the “lottery” versions first hypnotize the about-to-be-gulled with visions of rich windfalls in the offing before lowering the boom. Those who try to collect their “winnings” soon find themselves on the receiving end of e-mails informing them that they have to fork over facilitation fees before the big payouts will come to them. ---
**Author:** ![Tuco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tuco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuco)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-nigerian-scam-now-has-a-lottery-variant/142309/2 "2002-12-12T19:35:29Z")
My mate’s received thousands of these letters but I haven’t got any so far ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-nigerian-scam-now-has-a-lottery-variant/142309/3 "2002-12-12T20:29:52Z")
As with the original Nigerian scam, just forward the e-mail to [419.fcd@usss.treas.gov](mailto:419.fcd@usss.treas.gov) with the heading NO LOSS