During the heatwave that is gripping much of the country, winning a free air conditioner can be very attractive which is why, quite frankly, scammers are sending out phishing emails that appear to come from Lowe’s Home Improvement that tell the recipients of the email that they have just won a free air conditioner in a sweepstakes that they never entered.

The email reads “CONGRATULATIONS! You are the lucky online winner of a brand new Lowe’s Sweepstakes BTU Portable Air conditioner entry.”  Unfortunately, if you click on the link to confirm your winning of the air conditioner two things can happen and neither of them are good.  Either merely by clicking on the link you will download malware such as keystroke logging malware or ransomware; or alternatively, you may be directed to a website where you will be prompted to enter personal information that will lead to your identity being stolen.

TIPS

It is difficult to win a lottery or sweepstakes that you enter.  It is impossible to win one that you have not entered so anytime that you receive a notification that you have won a lottery that you did not enter, you can be sure that it is a scam.

Also, as I often advise you, whenever you receive an email or a text message, you can never be sure who is really sending it so you should never click on links, make a payment or provide personal information until you have absolutely verified that the communication is legitimate.  In this case, by going to the Lowe’s website you would be able to determine that there is no such sweepstakes going on.

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