Be wary of fraudulent letters on Visa Lottery – Cyber Safety Advocate

The US Department of Visa Services has advised the public to be wary about the increase in fraudulent emails and letters as Ghanaian citizens apply for the American Visa Lottery Scheme.

In a discussion on the GTV Breakfast, Cyber Safety Advocate, David Gyedu, popularly known as ‘DK Cyber’, explained how these scams occur and how to avoid falling victim.

He explained that some of these fraudsters pose as US Government Officials trying to extract money from applicants and websites are created to impersonate Official US websites, where many people are lured into these scams. These scammers usually contact people through email, social media, texts, calls or random websites.

David Gyedu said when these kinds of messages are seen, the first instinct is to inspect the link and then visit the Official Site to get more information on the matter. He said the Official Website should look like this: dv.lottery.state.gov/esc

The user is then given a confirmation code which is normally 16 digits. He mentioned that one should try to visit the US Embassy and properly investigate the scheme and get all the necessary information accurately.

After the application, he emphasized on the need to clear one’s search history, especially when applying in an Internet cafe. This can be done with the shortcut CTRL + H, then select clear history.

Further, a tell-tale sign of a clone website is the sighting of grammatical errors. He counselled the public to create multiple email accounts for different purposes.

“A person could have one for their social media and one for their business’’, according to the Cyber safety advocate.