How to identify phishing emails like "British Columbia Lottery"

What is the fake "British Columbia Lottery" email?

Our team has examined the email and concluded that it is a scam (a phishing email). The scammers responsible for this scam email pretend to be representatives of the British Columbia (BC) Lottery. They aim to deceive recipients into providing personal information and (or) sending money to them. Thus, recipients should ignore this email.

More about the "British Columbia Lottery" scam email

This scam email is disguised as a final notification from the British Columbia Lottery (BC Lottery). It claims that the recipient has won CA$ 2,000,000.00 in an electronic sweepstakes held on July 17, 2024 (the date might vary). Also, it provides fake winning numbers and instructs the recipient to contact a claims agent, Mr. Blaine Froggatt, via phone or email.

Also, the recipient is asked to fill out a claims processing form with personal details (like name, surname, address, sex, telephone, nationality, etc.) and choose between an online wire transfer or a certified bank cheque for prize collection.

It is likely that the scammers behind this scam email attempt to extract personal information (not only the aforementioned details but also sensitive information like credit card details). It is also possible that scammers would ask recipients to pay "administration" fees, "taxes", or make other payments to steal money from them.

Either way, it is strongly recommended not to respond to such emails (or take other actions) to avoid monetary loss, identity theft, or other negative consequences.

Threat Summary:

Name	British Columbia Lottery
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	The recipient has won CA$ 2,000,000.00 in an electronic sweepstakes
Disguise	Letter from British Columbia (BC) Lottery
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 scam emails in general

Such scams typically promise large sums of money or valuable prizes to lure recipients into providing personal information or transferring money. They often create a sense of urgency to push recipients into acting quickly without verifying their legitimacy. It is important to mention that fraudsters can also use email to deliver malware.

Some examples of similar scams are "Global Greengrants Fund Lottery Email Scam", "2026 FIFA World Cup Lottery Email Scam", and "EUROJACKPOT Email Scam".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

When cybercriminals use email to spread malware, they attach infected files or send malicious links. Simply opening these attachments does not always lead to a malware infiltration; it depends on the file type. For example, malicious Microsoft Office documents cannot execute malware until macro commands are enabled. In contrast, malicious executable files can deploy malware as soon as they are run.

Malicious links in emails intended to deliver malware can redirect users to web pages that either automatically download malware or trick visitors into downloading malicious files or software.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Avoid opening attachments or clicking on links in suspicious emails, especially those from unknown sources or addresses or emails that are unexpected or irrelevant. Avoid interacting with ads, pop-ups, prompts, etc., when visiting questionable websites. Never download pirated software or tools designed to bypass software activation.

Use official websites or app stores when downloading software (or files). Regularly use a reputable security tool to scan your system for threats and ensure your operating system and installed software are kept up to date. If you have already opened malicious attachments, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

Appearance of the fake "British Columbia Lottery" scam email (GIF):

Text presented in the "British Columbia Lottery" scam email:

Subject: FINAL NOTIFICATION.

BRITISH COLUMBIA(BC) LOTTERY
BC-49 Lottery Chip NO: BCL/73253CO/2024

Dear Lucky Winner,

It is apparent that this notification will come to you as a surprise but, please find time to read it carefully as we congratulate you over your success in the just concluded and official publication of results of the Electronic Online Sweepstakes organized by The BRITISH COLUMBIA LOTTERY in conjunction with the British Government and the UK Lottery Committee held on Wednesday, July 17 2024 here in Canada.

A draft of CA$2,000,000.00 (Two Million Canadian dollars) will be issued in your name as one of the lucky winners as soon as you contact our claims
agent.

All winners were selected through a web ballot system drawn from over 20,000 company entries and 98,000 individual email
addresses and email names from all over the world as a promotional program takes place every year.

It is important to note that your award was confirmed and released with the following winning particulars attached to it. Winning Numbers: 3 6 18 26 32 39, Bonus Number: 49 and Reference Number: BCL/73253CO/2024.

To file for your claim, please provide our claims agent center with the following details below:

Contact Person: Mr. Blaine Froggatt
Tel: +1(469) 922-3965
E-mail: claimsdispatch@live.co.uk

FILL THE CLAIMS PROCESSING FORM:

(1). Full Name:
(2). Full Address:
(3). Amount Won:
(4). Date of Birth:
(5). Sex:
(6). Occupation:
(7). Telephone:
(8). Your Winning Numbers:
(9). Nationality:

INDICATE PREFERRED MODE OF PRIZE COLLECTION:

(A)ON-LINE WIRE TRANSFER to your designated Bank Account.
(B) CERTIFIED BANK CHEQUE.

Congratulations once more from all members and staff of this program.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Best regards,

Jason Johnston
Online Coordinator.

NOTE: Please keep this winning a top secret from the public until your claim has been processed and remitted to you to avoid double crossing and disqualification, this is part of the security protocols.

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Quick menu:

• What is British Columbia Lottery fake email?
• 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?

Your email address may have been exposed through data breaches or leaks from websites or services where you registered your email. However, it is very unlikely that you are the only one who received this email. Typically, scammers send the same email to all addresses they have.

I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?

Change the passwords for any accounts that might be affected. Notify your bank or financial institutions if your financial information was compromised. If you provided ID card or similar information, contact the corresponding authorities.

I have downloaded and opened a malicious file attached to a fraudulent email, is my computer infected?

If the file was an executable, then it is very likely that your system has been compromised. Executable files can deploy malware immediately upon being opened. However, if the file was a document, such as a PDF or Word document, you might have avoided an infection. This is because many document files require additional actions, like enabling macros.

I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?

Opening an email by itself is completely harmless. It is the action of clicking on links within the email or opening attached files that can lead to system infections.

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

Yes, Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and removing almost all known malware. However, high-end malware often hides deep within the system. Therefore, running a full system scan is essential to ensure removal.

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