BEWARE FALSE DV GREEN CARD LOTTERY SCAM

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (InfoNet Doc. No. 06081861)
reported on Aug. 18, 2006 that people are receiving false e-mails that
represent that they originate from the U.S. Department of State and that
the recipient of the e-mail has "been selected as one of the lucky
winners" of the green card DV visa lottery. These e-mails go on to
state that the lucky winner should send a payment of $749 (single) or
$949 (family) by Western Union Money Transfer as a
"clearance/acceptance" fee. Be careful! This is not a valid
notification of selection from the U.S. Department of State. It is a
hoax designed to prey on the unsuspecting. Actual, legitimate notice
from the real U.S. Department of State for selection to the green card
DV lottery will ONLY be MAILED and will include a packet of forms for
completion. It will not ask that you submit money via Western Union.

The U.S. Department of State provides this warning:

Please Note: There have been instances of fraudulent websites posing as
official U.S. Government sites. Some companies posing as the U.S.
Government have sought money in order to "complete" lottery entry forms.
There is no charge to download and complete the Electronic Diversity
Visa Entry Form. The Department of State notifies successful Diversity
Visa applicants by letter, and NOT by email. To learn more see the
Department of State Warning at:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1749.html and the
Federal Trade Commission Warning at:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/lottery.htm.