FTC SCAM ALERT: State Department Runs Only Legitimate Diversity Visa Lottery Site

By  //  November 1, 2015

ABOVE VIDEO: Each year, the U.S. State Department holds a Diversity Visa (DV) lottery and millions of people from eligible countries enter their names.

Each year, the U.S. State Department holds a Diversity Visa (DV) lottery and millions of people from eligible countries enter their names.

They hope to win a chance to apply for a U.S. visa and become legal permanent residents.

The State Department runs the only legitimate site for the lottery: www.dvlottery.state.gov, and there’s no fee to enter.

If you get an email or see a website that claims to be about the DV lottery, but asks you to send money, don’t click on a link or give up personal information. That’s the work of a scammer.

Hundreds of people have reported sham emails and other DV lottery scams to the FTC.

People described phony websites that used information copied from government sites, emails that falsely announced “You have been selected!,” and lengthy messages that promised housing, a guaranteed job and income — for a processing fee of $875 to $1,250.

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FTC SCAM ALERT: Crooks Use Clever E-mail Schemes To Defraud Millions of People

The scammers wanted the “processing fees” sent by a wire transfer, which is difficult to trace or undo after the money is sent.

If you plan to apply to the DV lottery, know that:

• The deadline for this year’s lottery is November 3 at 12 noon.

• A computer will pick names at random. You can’t do anything to increase your chance of being selected.

• You can enter this year’s lottery once. If you enter more than once, you’ll be disqualified.

The State Department has detailed information about applying for the DV program. If you spot a different website, email or other scam about the DV lottery, please report it to the FTC.

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Each year, the U.S. State Department holds a Diversity Visa (DV) lottery and millions of people from eligible countries enter their names. (Shutterstock image)
Each year, the U.S. State Department holds a Diversity Visa (DV) lottery and millions of people from eligible countries enter their names. (Shutterstock image)