Yehey! nanalo ako sa online contest! But....

[redisol]

Just received this email:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Congratulations! Your name has been selected as one of the 20 winners from
the Sharp Zaurus "Pass It On" campaign.
Thank you very much for participating in our Sharp Zaurus "Pass It On"
campaign. Your participation in this campaign has made the launch of the
Zaurus extremely successful.
Out of thousands of entries that we had received from the campaign and
contest, your name was selected as one of the lucky winners. As one of the
contest winners, you may choose one of the following prizes:
1) Sharp Zaurus
2) Zaurus Sharp Mobile Service Package (package includes CDPD modem, service
activation, and 1 year wireless service through Sharp Mobile Services).
3) 27" Sharp Flat Screen TV
4) Sharp Digital Camcorder
5) DVD/VCR combo

By replying to this e-mail with your full name, US mailing address, phone
number and your prize choice, you agree that you have read the rules for the
contest and that you fully accept the responsibility, if any, of complying
with any of your state and local government contest rules and that we may
use your information for marketing purposes. Please feel free to view them
again at: http://www.ddi2.com/sharp/1/contestrule.asp
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Is this for real o kalokohan lang? I think it's for real kasi the email is from xxxxx@sharpsec.com.

Kung tutoo it then paano ko kaya pwede i-claim since it requires a us adress? Pwede ko kaya ipadala sa relative ko in the states and have them shipped here? I think they only asked for my email address when I joined. Kaso my email addy is myname@pacific.net.ph. Makalusot kaya if I use my uncle's name?

[pinkmoon]

I believe you have just fallen victim to what is commonly known as "spam". redisol my dear if I actually did win something from all the similar spam i receive on a daily basis milyonarya na ako ngayon, hehehe. Why, just today from glancing at the email subjects displayed in my inbox, I won a pair of plane tickets, free Viagra and been entered to win a condo. Off to the trash they went.

Here's a tip: whenever you have to give your email address out on the net or register for something that requires you to give it, use a free web-based account because that's basically how you get spammed.

[starfish07]

Di yan totoo! tama si Pinkmoon Spam mail lang yan! nakakainis nga yang mga yan eh noh!??

[redisol]

I am very much aware of the proliferation of spam mails, but I tend to believe that this one is not since I remember having participated in this particular contest some time ago...

I checked out the official webpage of Sharp USA (Zaurus Div) and the email addresses of their contacts use the domain xxxxx@sharpsec.com. HerrickC@sharpsec.com ang email address nung nagpadala nagpadala sa akin... Siguro di naman gagawa ng ganung kalokohan ang Sharp USA.

Anyway, I may have problems claiming the prize so mas mabuti pa nga siguro na spam mail na lang yan :)

[NOKiE]

...identity theft is quite popular nowadays.

[pinkmoon]

Originally posted by redisol
I am very much aware of the proliferation of spam mails, but I tend to believe that this one is not since I remember having participated in this particular contest some time ago...

I checked out the official webpage of Sharp USA (Zaurus Div) and the email addresses of their contacts use the domain xxxxx@sharpsec.com. HerrickC@sharpsec.com ang email address nung nagpadala nagpadala sa akin... Siguro di naman gagawa ng ganung kalokohan ang Sharp USA.

Anyway, I may have problems claiming the prize so mas mabuti pa nga siguro na spam mail na lang yan :)

redisol, spam does not necessarily connote that fraud is involved. I'm not suggesting that this is fraud. Spam in general is just a way of marketing on a very obnoxious level. They can offer money, prizes, etc. and they can all be legit but at the end of the day they will probably just tie you to a contract for claiming your prize or they will most definitely sell your information to other marketing companies. See they even said at the end that the catch is that they will sell your information. So even if it is legit, it's not worth it -- they couldn't even take the time to find out that you're not even a US resident. And take my advice, the next time you get spam, no matter what the content, if they ask you to hit "reply" so that you are taken off their mailing list, don't do it. This will only verify that your account is active and they'll put you on even more mailing lists!

NOKiE I'm not sure how this all leads to indentity theft (maybe with the selling of info?) but you're right about the identity part -- too often I get spam that reads "for men only" or "singles come meet your match". I wish that they had found out first that I'm actually a married woman! :lol: