'I promise to give out $1million to 10 people': Email scam using Gina Rinehart's name spams thousands of Australians – and it's not the first time
- An email scam has been sent out claiming to be from billionaire Gina Rinehart
- An example of the email was posted on social media site Reddit on Wednesday
- Ms Rinehart has been involved in legitimate philanthropy work for many years
An email scam using the name of Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart has appeared in the inbox of thousands of Australians.
An example of the scam email was posted to social media site Reddit on Wednesday with the tongue-in-cheek caption: 'Got some Gina Rinehart spam, I'm rich!'
'My name is Gina Rinehart, Australian magnate as part of my promise on my birthday wish on 9 February, 2018. I promise to give out $1,000,000 to ten persons before the end of the year. I am here to redeem my vow and you are luckily enlisted as one of the 10 persons listed to receive this amount,' the grammatically poor email reads.
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An email scam using the name of Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart has appeared in the inbox of thousands of Australians
It is not the first time Ms Rinehart's name has been used for the purposes of an email scam
The message then asks for personal details such as an address and phone number from the email recipient.
It is not the first time Ms Rinehart's name has been used for the purposes of an email scam.
In 2015, her company, Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd, sent out a message saying they were aware of a scam using their chairman's name claiming to be for a charity.
'The message is not from Mrs Rinehart... The scam is designed to fraudulently induce you to transfer money to persons associated with the scam,' the company's message said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Ms Rinehart, who is estimated to be worth over $12 billion, has been legitimately involved in philanthropy with a focus on health projects such as the National Breast Cancer Foundation and Swimming Australia.
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An example of the email was posted to social media site Reddit on Wednesday with the toungue-in-cheek caption 'Got some Gina Rinehart spam, I'm rich!'
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