Public Notices

[General] Public Notices

FRAUDULENT EMAIL NOTICE

4/1/2010

Mail/Email Hoax: 
LG Electronics has learned of several emails or letters being sent to the public which are not created, authorized or distributed by LG Electronics.  These emails generally involve a request of your personal identifying information while claiming that the sender is LG Electronics or associated with LG Electronics. Examples of these scam emails have included in the past false claims that the recipient of the email has either won a sweepstake or been randomly selected for a cash or product prize from our company. Sometimes the correspondence requests that recipient send personal contact or other identifying information, including financial or tax information, to a provided contact person. 

Scams that have in the past come to our attention attaches and requests that the recipient completes, a blank W-9 Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification Form or a job application form requesting personal information.  Other scam emails request you reply back to a certain email address where you will be prompted to provide further personal information.

Our Response: 
Please be advised that these correspondences are hoaxes and neither LG Electronics nor any of its affiliates are sponsors of or in any other way associated with these programs.  The LG names and trademarks are being used without permission and we do our best to investigate these matters. 

These correspondences appear to be a form of fraud commonly known as “phishing”, the objective of which is to try to obtain personal or financial information from you.

How to tell if an e-mail message is fraudulent:
Here are a few  warning signs that the message you received is a “phishing” scam:

•    You are asked to provide personal or financial information - Businesses should not ask you to send passwords, login names, Social Security numbers, or other personal and/or  financial information through mail/e-mail. 
•    Message conveys a sense of urgency – “Phishing” messages attempt to convey a sense of urgency so that you'll respond immediately without thinking.
•    Bulk correspondences - Phishing messages are usually sent out in bulk and often do not contain your first or last name.
•    Spelling and grammatical errors in the email.
•    Phishing emails use free, non-corporate email accounts (such as Yahoo!, AOL and Hotmail).

What to do:
Please do not respond to these correspondences, as it could jeopardize your personal information and privacy. If you have already responded, we advise that you immediately discontinue all communications with any of the individuals associated with this hoax. You might also want to report this email to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at spam@uce.gov, as well as to the Anti-Phishing Working Group at reportphishing@antiphishing.org

Samples of Hoaxes We Have Identified.
NOTE – Samples included below contain a representative sample of hoaxes in circulation that have come to the attention of LG Electronics, whether distributed through email or the U.S. Postal service. Other hoaxes may exist and may not be included here.

•    The email below claims to be from LG Award in London and notifies the receiver that they have won £715,000.00.  The receiver is then asked to send an email to the claims financier to obtain the money.  Please do not respond to this email and do not provide any personal information.

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From: nonreply@lg.com
Sent: 3/30/2010 6:37:57 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time
Subj: (no subject)
 
 
Congratulations! Your E-mail ID has brought to you an UNEXPECTED luck of
£715,000.00 in LG AWARD. This is to promote & encourage the use of LG PRODUCTS as a
global village around the WORLD. E-mail your ticket number  CN6327932 to your
claims financier to redeem your AWARD.
 
Mr Darren Esq
TEL: +44-701-119-8285
EMAIL: darrencole@financier.com
 
 
Once again, Congratulations
 
 
Sincerely

LG Award

London, UK.

"Life is Good"

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•    The below flyer was posted at certain retail locations in the US and claimed LG was going to buy back certain serial numbers of chocolate handsets for $10,000.

Retail Chocolate Flyer Scam

•    Another email claimed to run in conjunction with United Nations Organization and European Union and the recipient was told he or she was one of 50 worldwide recipients of a cash award of $2 million to be used for the business, educations or personal development of the recipient, with at least 30% to be used for environmental development.

 
•    Other emails claim that the recipient is the winner of the LG National Lotto/International Promotions or similar program lottery.  Still others include a “Prize Certificate” claiming that the recipient has won a prize from “LG Rewards.”


•    Another scam falsely claims that LG Electronics is hiring employees for the 2012 Olympics in London and asks recipients to fill out a job application.