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Dubai: One million, nine hundred and fifty thousand dollars, read the e-mail. For E. Pascal, a 28-year-old secretary from the Philippines, it was a dream come true. She had won a lottery.
"I couldn't believe my eyes. I was a millionaire. I was so happy," said Pascal.
What started as a routine day at work turned into a fabulous surprise when she opened the e-mail, informing her about the cash prize. It was a very good reason to throw caution to the wind.
A bank apparently based in Africa had sent the e-mail. No point in wasting time, when money is waiting for you, so Pascal responded with her details in an e-mail.
For good measure, she called the assigned numbers to confirm if she had actually won.
"Yes," said the speaker on the other end of the line.
He went on to inform Pascal that she would need to make a payment of $1,300 (Dh4,774) as lottery fees, for her to be able to get the winning amount.
A second sense kicked in. Why would she need to pay up a large sum if she had already won the money?
She said: "I found that fishy, especially since he asked me to constantly keep him updated till my fees were sent. I asked him for a guarantee. That's when he sent me the insurance and winning lottery certificates."
The next day, she got a call again, this time informing her that the prize money would be transferred to her account within 48 hours of her paying the fees.
Prudence prevailed and Pascal decided to do some online research. It paid off. She realised that the bank topped the list of fraudulent financial institutions in that country.
Heartbroken, yet relieved, Pascal thanked the fact that she had not fallen prey to the e-mail scam.
"Maybe I was naive, but very few would have a doubt after seeing the certificates. They looked so authentic," said Pascal.
The look of the certificates had convinced her to e-mail personal details, including her bank account number. "It's something that really bothers me. I hope they do not misuse any information."
Identity theft is a fear that she now lives with. It hounds her every waking moment - greed had found its mark. But, it has been a lesson well learnt.
'Nothing comes easy'
Pascal said: "Everyone wants a wealthy life, but nothing comes easy. People should be careful before reacting to such e-mails. I'm sure a lot of people like me have been fooled."
It is unfortunately true. According to international studies, an estimated 55 billion spam or unsolicited commercial e-mails are sent out each day and the number keeps increasing.
Companies posing as investment firms rake in millions of dollars by fooling people into partnerships and other financial scams.
Entrepreneur A. Bhatt identifies with it. He said: "Although I have never been duped, I know of friends who lost millions because of such spam e-mails. Sadly two were just budding entrepreneurs who lost everything."
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