"With immense pleasure, we wish to notify you . . . "
Okay, so you know the rest, right? I've won trillions in the Eurostaats Lottery. I'm the fortunate recipient of a business proposal from some wealthy entrepreneur from the Ivory Coast. I'm a kind man -- and so some trusting widow / orphan / termininally ill prince or princess is going to put all their faith in me to help them deal with some big bad European bank in an effort to get back millions of dollars that are rightfully theirs, thereby earning me a huge share for my loving, caring efforts to be of assistance.
Ah, yes.
But this latest e-mail notice was different -- and, so you should be careful.
The notice from UK Universal Lottery Inc. not only informed me that my e-mail address -- chosen at random, of course -- had been selected, making me a winner of 1.5 million British pounds, but noted that the contest is AAA approved. Yes, that it is endorsed by the American Automobile Association. This, of course, is a logo designed to garner belief in the contest -- a trust from a base of loyal AAA members, first and foremost among them senior citizens.
Well, here's a message to all of you AAA members out there:
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Or, as AAA Automobile Club of New York spokesman Robert Sinclair said: "What a scam."
Yup. The AAA does not endorse this "universal lottery," which, of course, should come as no surprise -- since no legitimate agency we checked with has ever heard of it. Nor, for that matter, does Yahoo! or any of the other companies listed in the e-mail.
Obviously, scam artists use these logos and brand markings because they realize they engender trust among the recipients. Certainly, any driver knows that AAA members are incredibly loyal -- and lean on AAA for all sorts of advice concerning their daily lives: whether it's driving or travel or making vacation plans.
But, don't fall for this one. Because it isn't AAA approved -- no matter what the seal claims.