i've been... scamed

stupid me.
do me a favor and spank me! HARD!

really really really supper duuper STUPID!!!!
GRRRRRR!

it was a fraud.
ok. much to may shame and disgrace this is what happened.

it was sent to me 1st of september and and i opened it on the 6th:

-----

MICROSOFT GLOBAL EMAIL /LUCKYDAY LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL
FROM: INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION / PRIZE AWARD .
PROMOTING INTERNET USAGE OVER THE GLOBE

REF: CIL/231-FMI0431/09
BATCH: IPD/15/096/PTNL
RE: WINNING NOTIFICATION/FINAL NOTICE

Sir/Madam

We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Lottery Winners
International programs held on the 30th of August 2005. Your e-mail address
attached to ticket number 20511465897-6287 with serial number
472-971103 drew lucky numbers 8-66-97-22-46-88 which consequently won in the 2nd
category, you have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of
US$ 500,000.00 (Five Hundred Thousand United States
Dollars)

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your
winning information very confidential till your claims has been processed
and your prize/money Remitted to you. This is part of our security
protocol to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by
some participants.
All participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn
from over 200,000,000 company and 300,000,000 individual email addresses
and names from all over the world.
This promotional program takes place annually. We hope with part of
your winning you will take part in our next year USD100 million
international lottery.
To file for your claim, please contact our/your fiducial agent

Mr Phelp Grant Mrs Cheryl Klein Huis
NETPOINT CLAIM MANAGEMENT SERVICES
(Claims undewriter, Claims assessor,Claims adjustor,claim negotiator)
TEL/ 0031-6-2203-4830
FAX/ 0031-847300040 (EUROPE)
FAX/ 001-5306185873 (U. S. A)
Email: netpointagency01@walla.com

Please note in order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications
please remember to quote your reference number and batch numbers in all
correspondence. Furthermore, should there be any change of address do
inform our agent as soon as possible.
Congratulations once more from our members of staff and thank you for


Sincerely Yours,

Iries Van Guus
Lottery Coordinator.

----

see that? see my mistake? see how a big dupehead i've become?

tsss. LoL. i replied to the email they sent me to confirm my (fraud) unusual luck. that time i'm really excited. imagine US$ 500,000! i can buy a lot of things with that! i'm imagining my life with PhP 28M! i could fully pay our existing loans! i will never ran out of clothes to wear! i can buy my dream computer! overhaul our cars, or better yet buy a new one! i can fix everything wretched about my life! i can buy anything i want! and use my money according to my own liking.

i happily emailed them as i said before and the next day (today) when i sat down on this chair to check my mail and surf the net... i recieved a reply from the filthy criminals.

-----

Microsoft Claim/Verification Form (Stricty Confidential)

Dear Arianne,
Please find attached Microsoft Claim Processing/Verification form. Fill in the requested information and send by to our office via Email-attachment or Fax.

Best Regards,
Mrs Becky Van Boxtel
NETPOINT CLAIM MANAGEMENT SERVICES
(Claims undewriter, Claims assessor,Claims adjustor,claim negotiator)E-mail- netpointagency01@mail.wowmail.com,

TEL/ 0031-62-2034-830
FAX/ 0031-847-300-040

----

indeed, being the big dupehead that i am, i downloaded the document and checked out the form.

it's asking for my identification. name address phone blah blah blah... and by the end of the form it's asking for a 315 euros processing fee.

where the hell would i get that? that's over 20,000 in our country.
that's when my suspicions start to build. i was so stupid, I KNOW!, for not suspecting the first time i recieved the letter.

i searched about the lottery, entering Microsoft Luckyday as keywords and it yielded a result that brought assurance (and a little frown too) to me.

the letter was not just a SPAM... it's a SCAM...
African Scam 419.

i saw a list of fraud lotteries and found MS Luckyday Int'l there.
now i know.
i investigated more on how to identify scam letters and it really matched the situation i am in.

the thing is.
asd;kfvhnbaj,fdbhqrkgdfk.f!
i absent-mindedly let a VIRUS enter our PC.
if it's not a virus.. then it's an ad or spyware.

either way, that's the LEAST they can do. and i quite lucky that i discovered it even before i filled out the form (containing practically everything a lousy criminal would need to track me, murder my family, and do other horrible things with my identity) and send it back to them. That would definitely end the happy days of my life.

---

i'm half resentful on sharing this to you. by now you should be laughing, branding me as a desperate quick-money seeker, a looser, and other berating stuff you could think of.
But i need not care, just heed what you think is worth heeding in this entry.
Just.. Beware of Scam.
that's a very lousy warning but that's basically it.