According to the Washington Post, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), acting on tips received from victims, has accused operators of eight websites of scamming foreigners into filing bogus lottery applications. The FTC filed a civil complaint in federal district court against one such operator, John Romano and Hoda Nofal of Global Web Solutions, Inc., in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.  The FTC contends the websites misled consumers about their services by suggesting that they were somehow associated with the federal government.  The internet sites, some located in India and Japan, offered foreigners help with registering for the DV 2005 program charging fees ranging from $40 to $250 per registration.  Many of the foreigners were not from eligible countries and essentially lost their money. Others applied too early and thus may have ruined their eligibility for this year's diversity visa lottery .

As we previously announced, the DV 2005 lottery registration period begins 11/1/2003 and runs through 12/31/2003.  See our August 26, 2003 news item.  The only legitimate internet site for accurate information on the program is the U.S. Department of State's website:

http://travel.state.gov/dv2005.html

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2003/23329.htm

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