How to spot scams like the CANADIAN LOTTERY email scam

What is kind of scam is "CANADIAN LOTTERY" scam?

Our team has examined this email and concluded that it is a typical lottery scam. Scammers behind it attempt to trick recipients into sending them money (and possibly personal information) by claiming that they have won a lottery. This email is disguised as a Canadian lottery winning notice.

More about the "CANADIAN LOTTERY" email scam

Scammers claim that recipients have won 3,950,000.00 Canadian dollars in a lottery. To claim the winning, scammers instruct to call the provided number (+1416-5432-279) or send an email to joe@bescoinc.com and follow the instructions. The mail also contains a fake ticket and batch numbers.

The purpose of this scam is to trick recipients into sending scammers money (paying an "administration" or similar fee). The email also mentions that an "agent" administrating this lottery is entitled to 5% of the winning. Scammers may ask not only to send money but also to provide personal information (like credit card details, full name, address, etc.).

Threat Summary:

Name	CANADIAN LOTTERY Email Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipients have won 3,950,000.00 Canadian dollars in a lottery
Scammer's Contact Information	+1416-5432-279 (phone number), joe@bescoinc.com (email address)
Disguise	Letter from a Canadian lottery organization
Symptoms	Unauthorized online purchases, changed online account passwords, identity theft, illegal access of the computer.
Distribution methods	Deceptive emails, rogue online pop-up ads, search engine poisoning techniques, misspelled domains.
Damage	Loss of sensitive private information, monetary loss, identity theft.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Similar scams in general

Scammers behind such emails state that recipients have won a large sum of money in a lottery (or sweepstake, or other prize draw). Usually, they ask to contact (email or call) someone who claims to be an official at the lottery company. They also urge recipients not to tell anyone about the winning.

These scams must be ignored. Scammers use them to extract money and (or) personal information. There are no real winnings/prizes. Examples of similar emails are "GMAIL UK FREELOTTO", "World Health Organization Beneficiary", and "Donation Grant For You". Cybercriminals can use email not only to scam people but also to deliver malware.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Emails used to deliver malware are usually disguised as letters from legitimate companies or other entities. The main difference between emails used for scamming purposes and malware delivery is that the second ones contain malicious links or attachments. The purpose of these emails is to trick recipients into downloading and executing malware (malicious file).

Most cybercriminals use Microsoft Office or PDF documents, archive files like ZIP, RAR, executable files, or JavaScript files to distribute malware. It is worth mentioning that not all files infect computers right after opening them. For instance, malicious MS Office documents cannot infect computers until macros commands are enabled.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Remember that opening attachments and website links in irrelevant emails sent from suspicious or unknown addresses can infect a computer. Use official pages and direct links as sources for downloading files and software. Do not use other sources (e.g., shady pages, P2P networks).

Always use official tools (or functions) provided by official software developers to update and activate any installed software and the operating system. Keep your computer protected with reputable antivirus software. If you've already opened malicious attachments, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

Appearance of the email (GIF):

Text in the email:

Subject: ATTN: YOU WON CANADIAN LOTTERY 2022 AWARD (3,950, 000.00)

ATTN:CANADIAN LOTTERY AWARD WINNING NOTICE,,,,
 
We are pleased to inform you of this year's release of the CANADIAN ONTARIO Lottery Sweepstake Program, held on the 22nd Of March 2022. Due to the mix up of numbers and names, the results were later released on the 4th Of March 2022. Your name was registered with the following Ticket Number: 671860 013624 and Batch Nє:88362/5/09. This has won the lottery in the 2nd category.

You have therefore been approved a lump sum payment of (3,950, 000.00) Three Million Nine Hundred and Fifty Thousand Canadian which has been credited to Claim File Nє:CIZ 26/71860/ES This is from a total cash prize of 96.800, 000.00 (Ninety six million eight hundred thousand DOLLARS) shared among the forty international winners in all categories.

Congratulations!!! Congratulations!!! Congratulations!!!

Your winning prize is now Deposited with a reliable Bank here in CANADA and insured under your name and Claim File Nє CIZ 26/71860/ES. Due to false practices you are required to keep your winning award information strictly from public notice, until your winning has been processed and sent to you, as this is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming or unwarranted abuse of this program by unscrupulous individuals.

All participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from six Hundred Thousand Names from America, Canada, Europe, Asia and south pacific region, as part of our yearly International promotion program.

To begin your lottery claim, please contact your assigned  claim Center at Toronto lotto claims office. (Mr kon anderson) the Foreign Service claims On

Tele Nє:+1416-5432-279     E-Mail:joe@bescoinc.com

 For processing and remittance of your winning prize. Remember all prize winning must be claimed not later than 29th JUNE 2022. Any claim, not made before this date will be returned to the Ministerio De Economia y Hacienda as unclaimed fund. You are expected to be in our Canada office to sign your winning processing certificate or you may pay for one of our delivery options.

NOTE:  Your agent (Mr kon anderson) is entitled to 5% percent of your winning fund of 3,950,000.00 but it will only be paid to them after you have received your winning payments, he will direct you further on the requirement and administrative charge to enable the bank process your winning for payment.

Be Informed In order to avoid unnecessary delay and complication, please remember to quote your reference and batch numbers in every correspondence with your agent. Ontario Lottery Sweepstake Program Congratulations from all of our members and staff.

Instant automatic malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

• What is CANADIAN LOTTERY fake winning notice?
• Types of malicious emails.
• How to spot a malicious email?
• What to do if you fell for an email scam?

Types of malicious emails:

Phishing Emails

Most commonly, cybercriminals use deceptive emails to trick Internet users into giving away their sensitive private information, for example, login information for various online services, email accounts, or online banking information.

Such attacks are called phishing. In a phishing attack, cybercriminals usually send an email message with some popular service logo (for example, Microsoft, DHL, Amazon, Netflix), create urgency (wrong shipping address, expired password, etc.), and place a link which they hope their potential victims will click on.

After clicking the link presented in such email message, victims are redirected to a fake website that looks identical or extremely similar to the original one. Victims are then asked to enter their password, credit card details, or some other information that gets stolen by cybercriminals.

Emails with Malicious Attachments

Another popular attack vector is email spam with malicious attachments that infect users' computers with malware. Malicious attachments usually carry trojans that are capable of stealing passwords, banking information, and other sensitive information.

In such attacks, cybercriminals' main goal is to trick their potential victims into opening an infected email attachment. To achieve this goal, email messages usually talk about recently received invoices, faxes, or voice messages.

If a potential victim falls for the lure and opens the attachment, their computers get infected, and cybercriminals can collect a lot of sensitive information.

While it's a more complicated method to steal personal information (spam filters and antivirus programs usually detect such attempts), if successful, cybercriminals can get a much wider array of data and can collect information for a long period of time.

Sextortion Emails

This is a type of phishing. In this case, users receive an email claiming that a cybercriminal could access the webcam of the potential victim and has a video recording of one's masturbation.

To get rid of the video, victims are asked to pay a ransom (usually using Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency). Nevertheless, all of these claims are false - users who receive such emails should ignore and delete them.

How to spot a malicious email?

While cyber criminals try to make their lure emails look trustworthy, here are some things that you should look for when trying to spot a phishing email:

• Check the sender's ("from") email address: Hover your mouse over the "from" address and check if it's legitimate. For example, if you received an email from Microsoft, be sure to check if the email address is @microsoft.com and not something suspicious like @m1crosoft.com, @microsfot.com, @account-security-noreply.com, etc.
• Check for generic greetings: If the greeting in the email is "Dear user", "Dear @youremail.com", "Dear valued customer", this should raise suspiciousness. Most commonly, companies call you by your name. Lack of this information could signal a phishing attempt.
• Check the links in the email: Hover your mouse over the link presented in the email, if the link that appears seems suspicious, don't click it. For example, if you received an email from Microsoft and the link in the email shows that it will go to firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0... you shouldn't trust it. It's best not to click any links in the emails but to visit the company website that sent you the email in the first place.
• Don't blindly trust email attachments: Most commonly, legitimate companies will ask you to log in to their website and to view any documents there; if you received an email with an attachment, it's a good idea to scan it with an antivirus application. Infected email attachments are a common attack vector used by cybercriminals.

To minimise the risk of opening phishing and malicious emails we recommend using Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows. 

Example of a spam email:

What to do if you fell for an email scam?

• If you clicked on a link in a phishing email and entered your password - be sure to change your password as soon as possible. Usually, cybercriminals collect stolen credentials and then sell them to other groups that use them for malicious purposes. If you change your password in a timely manner, there's a chance that criminals won't have enough time to do any damage.
• If you entered your credit card information - contact your bank as soon as possible and explain the situation. There's a good chance that you will need to cancel your compromised credit card and get a new one.
• If you see any signs of identity theft - you should immediately contact the Federal Trade Commission. This institution will collect information about your situation and create a personal recovery plan.
• If you opened a malicious attachment - your computer is probably infected, you should scan it with a reputable antivirus application. For this purpose, we recommend using Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows.
• Help other Internet users - report phishing emails to Anti-Phishing Working Group, FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, National Fraud Information Center and U.S. Department of Justice.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why did I receive this email?

It is possible that your email has appeared in a data breach, and scammers used it in their campaign. Usually, scammers send the same email to all addresses that they have obtained (their emails are not personal).

I have provided my personal information and (or) sent money when tricked by this email, what should I do?

If you have provided credit card details, ID card information, or other personal information (or sent money  to scammers), contact corresponding authorities as soon as possible.

I have downloaded and opened a file attached to an email used to deliver malware, is my computer infected?

It depends on the file type. For instance, opening a malicious executable file starts the infection right away. However, malicious documents like MS Office documents do not infect computers until macros commands are enabled.

I have read the email but did not open the attachment (or a link), is my computer infected?

Opening emails used to deliver malware does not infect computers.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and eliminate almost all known malware. Typically, high-end malware hides deep in the operating system. Therefore, running a full system scan is a must.

▼ Show Discussion