Another Winning Ticket with EL - MUNDO SEGUROS S.A.!

Hey You Guys!

I'd like you to come and join us in celebration. Not only is today LB's tenth birthday; we have something else exciting to celebrate. When the present unwrapping ceremony was over I told the boys my good news. As usual they didn't quite believe me; so I handed BB a letter which had arrived in the post.

It was funny to see his face when he read the letter! His eyes were as wide as saucers with excitement; however momentary this was; it did put a great big grin on my face and it has given me something to think about, which is why I am writing this post.

Children in their innocence are by their very nature naive. This is why they live with their parents; or adopted families for several years while learning about life. Once they can stand on their own two feet they are ready for the Independence which we have all, at one time or another longed for; they fledge the nest.

Unfortunately it is not only children who display naivety; many adults adopt such a stance as they course through life. Unfortunately, there are many who set out to exploit this trait by defrauding the innocent, the vulnerable and the greedy. Read on to find out why I have become so serious and cynical this morning.

I thought that I would let you into a little secret; I am not supposed to share this because of security reasons, however I know that all the boys and girls out in Blog land would like to celebrate my good fortune.

So, here goes: I have won yet another prize; this time it is, wait for it:

THE SPANISH LOTTERY!

Yesterday I recently received notification of my very good fortune in this lottery; even before I opened the discrete white envelope I had correctly guessed what it contained. This is the second notification of its type this year; my reaction was somewhat dull, it was very much a case of why bother? For starters; I hadn't purchased any Spanish lottery tickets...

Way back in the summer I googled the company; whose name had been misappropriated on the first letterhead. I discovered that the company was indeed a bone fide lottery house; however on deeper probing I also discovered that they were advising their customers about a scam using their official name. The advice given by the company was very simple:

If you do not have the ticket stub you are NOT a winner!

This sounds like good, common sense advice to me! For those of you who would like to read more about this scam click here to be re-directed to a site dedicated to it!

Anyway, not satisfied with my original reply, ie none; the cheeky blighters have targeted me again! Really I suppose I should have written the words return to sender on the unopened envelope and popped it back into the post! Unfortunately there was no return address printed on the outside of the envelope; so I guess Elvis is redundant in this case...

I am fascinated by the effort that goes into expediting a scam of this nature. The first one offered three options;

1. Bank Transfer - preferred option; ie they get your bank details & empty your account!
   
2. Cheque - A rubber one; no doubt!
   
3. Collect in person - a bit dodgy, you could end up mugged; or worse, relieved of your identity & your wallet.

The second and more recent edition of this same scam requests that as proof of identity you fax a copy of;

1. your driver's licence or
   
2. your passport

It is of course important to provide proof of your identity, along with personal details such as nationality, occupation, marital status & gender. More essential to your claim this time is the provision of your next of kins personal details too; assuming you're not dumb enough to inform them of your bank details, including swift code & iban codes to facilitate the preferred option of Bank Transfer.

I am tempted to do exactly as requested, having first doctored a copy of the required identity proof in photoshop and send them details for Nicolas Claus & his wife being the next of kin! I wonder if they might get the message that this time it would be them that was had and not me?

Having said all of the above; I don't think that it'd be worth the trouble, especially as I have more than enough to do already. My Mum bought LB a Lotto ticket for his birthday, c/o myself of course!The Irish Lottery is forecast to be up to €13,000,000! Wouldn't that be a nice surprise for us all, especially on LB's birthday?

We're going to be celebrating regardless; after all we WON the lottery 10 years ago today, didn't we?!

Hasta La Vista!

Polly P proud Mum of LB aged 10 today! xoxo