Cyber criminals target deaf people in WA
Issue Date: - Wednesday, 20 May 2009
Internet scammers are now targeting people with disabilities, in particular deaf people in WA, with promises of a huge Lotto win.
"These scammers have no shame!" says Commissioner for Consumer Protection, Anne
Driscoll. "There are no depths to which these cyber criminals won't stoop, now taking
advantage of the most vulnerable in our community."
Hearing impaired consumers in WA have received emails from the "Deaf Lotto International
Program", claiming to operate in the United States, with the great news they have not only
won $US85,000 but also a new laptop computer. The email states the lucky winner was
selected through an automated computer ballot system drawn from 100,000 companies and
50-millon deaf people from all over the world.
Winners are asked to email their name, phone number, nationality, age, country, state and sex to agent Mr Paul Petrie who then advises the winner must pay $US 850 in fees to receive the prize.
As a further incentive, the extremely generous Mr Petrie tells the winners they have also won a second lottery of $US150,000 and a free two-week trip to EuroDisney! But then comes
another catch - to receive this incredible extra prize, winners must pay an additional $US125 to Nigeria via Western Union.
"You don't have to go to EuroDisney to be taken for a ride with this scam and we recommend
anyone receiving these emails to delete them immediately," Ms Driscoll said.
The scammers appear to trawl social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and
Twitter searching for victims and start up conversations via email and instant messaging to
convince their victims to invest a small amount of money to win a fortune.
WA ScamNet, a service provided by Consumer Protection, has contacted the WA Deaf
Society about this scam and has also reported it to the social networking services.
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