How to spot fake emails like "WorldMillions Lotto" scam email

What is the fake "WorldMillions Lotto" email?

We have inspected the email and concluded that its purpose is to deceive recipients into transferring money to scammers (e.g., paying for fake services) and (or) disclosing personal information. Scammers disguised this fraudulent message as a winning notification to lure unsuspecting recipients. This and similar emails should not be trusted.

More about the "WorldMillions Lotto" scam email

This scam email claims that the recipient has won ZAR4,950,000.00 in the WorldMillions Online Lottery. It states that the winner was selected randomly from various databases and contains instructions on how to claim the winning.

The message instructs the recipient to contact an "accredited agent", Diagonal Group, via email (payout@diagonalgroupza.com ordiagonalgroupza@outlook.com) or SMS to claim the prize using a provided ticket number. The email is supposedly signed by Joachim Hoffer, a "Payout Specialist" from the Global Payout Office.

The purpose of this email is to deceive the recipient into believing they have won a large prize in order to extract personal information (e.g., credit card details, ID card information) and possibly money. Money is typically extracted by asking victims to pay "processing fees", taxes, or transfer charges before receiving the fake prize.

It is important not to reply to such emails. Responding can expose recipients to further scams, identity theft, or financial loss.

Similar scam emails in general

These scam emails often offer fake rewards and prizes in exchange for personal information or upfront payments. They are designed to steal money or identities and usually appear official to trick victims. It is essential to stay cautious and never engage with unsolicited messages promising large sums of money.

Some examples of similar scams are "Global Development & Financial Support Email Scam", "Bitcoin Compensation Program Email Scam", and "HSBC Fraud Victim Compensation Email Scam". In some cases, emails of this kind are used to trick recipients into infecting their computers with malware.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cybercriminals can spread malware via email by disguising harmful content as legitimate attachments. These attachments tend to be malicious executable files, compressed folders (like ZIP or RAR), MS Office documents, PDFs, ISO images, or script files.

Interacting with such files (e.g., opening malicious executables or enabling macros in infected documents) can trigger malware execution. In other cases, emails can also contain misleading links that direct users to malicious websites, where malware can be downloaded automatically or trick users into running it manually.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Avoid opening links or attachments in unexpected or irrelevant emails, particularly those from unknown addresses. Download software from official websites or app stores. Do not interact with pop-ups, ads, or other content on untrusted websites, and never allow such sites to send notifications.

Keep your operating system and all applications up to date. Also, use reputable antivirus software and run regular scans. 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 "WorldMillions Lotto" scam email (GIF):

Text presented in the "WorldMillions Lotto" email:

Subject: ® Winning Notification - Ticket Number ZAW49525

WorldMillions

Our Ref: WMZAW49525/0567

Congratulations!!!

You have won a CASH PRIZE of ZAR4,950,000.00 (Four Million, Nine Hundred and Fifty Thousand South African Rand) from WorldMillions Online JACKPOT- The biggest guaranteed online lotto.

WorldMillions is the newest and biggest Online Lottery Draw, which is conducted through our automated random selection of participating Companies, Government Offices, Stores, Religious Bodies and SCSD DATA as permitted by the POPIA, in which your e-mail address/profile emerged as a category "B" Winner ( Please note that you do not need to buy a ticket to win WorldMillions Lotto) .

For immediate Payout, You are required to E-Mail the National Lotteries Commission ACCREDITED AGENT with your Winning Ticket Number (ZAW49525) on subject line, Full Names and Contact Phone Number.

AGENCY: Diagonal Group (LICENSE NUMBER: 2022-23 0406)

E-MAIL: payout@diagonalgroupza.com

CC: diagonalgroupza@outlook.com

SMS ONLY NUMBER : 0656487192

(SMS Your Ticket Number ZAW49525 and E-MAIL Address to 0656487192)

Accept our congratulations !!!

Yours sincerely,

Joachim Hoffer
Payout Specialist
GLOBAL PAYOUT OFFICE
WORLDMILLIONS ONLINE LOTTERY
Member: NASPL, European Lotteries,
World Lottery Association, Cibelae, APLA, and Africa Lotteries

Instant automatic malware removal:

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Quick menu:

• What is Fake WorldMillions Lotto winning notification?
• 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 was likely collected through a data breach, an untrustworthy website, or another source. Scam emails are usually impersonal, with the same message being sent to numerous recipients simultaneously.

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

Report the incident to the relevant authorities. Change the passwords of any accounts that could be compromised, and if you have provided financial information, contact your bank.

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

It depends on the type of the malicious file. Malicious attachments can pose a threat if a user opens them or takes additional actions, such as enabling macros.

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

Opening an email is harmless. Infections can occur after a user interacts with a malicious attachment or link.

I have sent cryptocurrency to the address presented in such email, can I get my money back?

These transactions are almost impossible to track, significantly reducing the chances of recovering funds lost in a scam.

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

Combo Cleaner can detect and remove most known malware threats. However, more advanced infections can sometimes remain hidden deep within the system, making them difficult to detect. To ensure detection and removal, it is highly recommended to perform a full system scan.