Have you or someone you know received an e-mail claiming you’ve won the Green Card lottery and asking you to send or wire money? Don’t fall for it! The sender is trying to steal your money!

If you have received any emails from someone claiming they are from the State Department or other government office, asking you to wire or transfer money online to pay for a “processing fee,” this is a scam. These e-mails are designed to steal money from unsuspecting victims. The senders often use phony e-mail addresses and logos designed to make them look more like official government correspondence. One common fraudulent e-mail comes from an address ending in @diplomats.com or @usa.com and asks potential victims to wire $819 per applicant/family member via Western Union to an address in London. If you receive this email, do NOT respond. Report it immediately to the Federal Trade Commission at or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).

Any e-mail from the U.S. government should end with .gov. But no matter where the message is from, you should never transfer money to anyone who e-mails you claiming that you have won the Diversity Visa (DV) lottery or been selected for a Green Card. For more information on this type of fraud and how to avoid it, please see the Department of State’s fraud warning, Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery Program and the Federal Trade Commission’s consumer alert on the matter, Diversity Visa Lottery: Read the Rules, Avoid the Rip-Offs.

This information last reviewed 10/28/11.