What is the skinny on all the emails saying "you have won $ in a lottery" - some even using the Yahoo! and MSN

Question

names. surely these cannot be authentic

Answer 1

yea they steal ur information and rob u blind

Answer 2

THESE ARE A SCAM!!!

BEWARE!!

Answer 3

they arent real, there scams just trying to get you personal info!!!!! be very careful!

Answer 4

yeah they are all scams.

i regularly win the UK lottery and I live in Ohio.  O.o

Answer 5

Read up on the meaning of spam, NEVER give any of your personal information to these emails.  

Answer 6

its a scam your just giving away your PERSONAL info.

Answer 7

Those are phishing scams.. they are gonna ask for personal info if you click on them.. info like ur email password or credit card number. so dont click on them. sometimes they are spywares -spywares are viruses from the internet that could enter ur PC so don't ever click on them :]

Answer 8

I must be the luckiest girl in the world, cuz I win about eight of these a day. :) Seriously, these are complete scams and if you give them any info at all, they will exploit it, especially your cell phone number!  Companies in other parts of the world are now using this technique to gather info on you, including your cell number, then using it to make charges to your cell.  

While we're on this subject of scams, everyone be sure to check your cell phone bill and never, ever have it on auto pay.  I have companies try to scam my number and the cell provider each and every month now.  So I have to review every statement and pay it manually, otherwise I'll end up paying for charges that scammers put on my bill. It can be something as simple as an email or text that says 'click here'.  If you click there to find out what's up or who it is, they decide that you have 'opted in'- including if you click the button that reads 'stop these emails'- and they will begin charging you, stating that you have 'ordered' something by clicking the button.  Careful!

These 'lottery' scams and 'click here' schemes will take your money if you're not careful.