The Consular Section of the US Embassy in Colombo warned Sri Lankans to be aware of fraudulent emails that have been in circulation regarding the diversity visa lottery or green cards sent by parties claiming to be from the Department of State.

‘We are aware that several entities claiming to be the Department of State or facilitators for the Diversity Visa Lottery or Green Cards send malicious and fraudulent e-mails to Sri Lankan citizen’s, a US Consular Section statement said.

‘Diversity Visa Lottery notifications are NOT sent via e-mail. E-mails stating that you have won the Diversity Visa Lottery or a Green Card are NOT legitimate’, the statement said.

The Embassy advises Diversity Visa Lottery entrants to check the status of their online application by visiting www.dvlottery.state.gov for the DV 2012 season beginning on May 1, 2011.

Only internet sites ending in ".gov" are official U.S. Government websites, the press release said adding, if you receive an e-mail from an address that ends with ".com", ".net", or ".org", it is NOT an official e-mail from the U.S. Embassy.

The Embassy said that it anyone receives any e-mails that mention the Diversity Visa Lottery or indicate that they have won a Green Card, they should consider these e-mails illegitimate and fraudulent. ‘Do NOT respond to the e-mail sender or agree to transfer any money’, the Embassy said.