This fake visa form even claims that they will give you an airline ticket to the U. S.
Since the internet is becoming more available to Costa Ricans so have the S & S’s (scammers and spammers), as we wrote about how Costa Rica’s internet fraud has increase.
One of the things S & S’ers like is to target ones problems (like money) and claim they can help clear it up. In this case, it is a lottery scam, claiming winners will receive a Visa to the U.S. In other words, Internet spammers are using the U.S. green card lottery as a ploy to make money.
A typical mailing tells a recipient that he or she is a winner in the U.S. Visa Lottery Program and asks them to fill out personal information, like passport number, telephone and in some cases banking info. – either way, they can also use that personal information for ID thief.
The scam email looks official and claims it is in partnership with the U.S lottery program and it even comes flaunting the Seal of the United States of America. The spammer’s initial request is somewhat appealing starting with $750 processing fee for an individual and $1,100 for a family.
One of the reasons why this Scam is so appealing, it is no secret that the U.S Embassy continues to give frustration and just plain rudeness to those Costa Ricans seeking U.S. Visas and why this scam hits right at the belt for those seeking one. Stories are so wide spread, that AM Costa Rica has started to post them on their website. So it is easy to see how these con men capitalize on the hopes, and millions of fraudulent emails have been sent out because of this.
There is a real Visa program. It is called the diversity lottery program, and it is designed to provide immigration visas to individuals from countries that are underrepresented in U.S. population. But it does not have a secretary general, as does the bogus program promoted by the spam.
As with all scams, this visa lottery scam seems too obvious to fool anyone, but so are advance fee fraud scams (Nigerian Scam), that have so far skimmed billions of dollars off gullible Americans, Western Europeans and now targeting Central America marks, particularly Costa Ricans.
There also are companies that charge for helping applicants fill out the required diversity lottery documents, many of these are legitimate, but the U.S State Department notes that the government charges no fees. Costa Ricans are eligible to participate in the real U.S. lottery that gives away thousands of immigration visas each year. However, do not expect to get a Visa if one wins, only one out of ten are approved.
Below are some informative links on this
I just cannot stomach the fact that people are targeting these immigrants, who want nothing but to live in a country that gives them more opportunity. Is nothing sacred? Is nobody safe from those that would steal?