The State Department has issued a fraud warning against e-mail scams falsely notifying people they won – or promising to process paperwork for – a diversity visa lottery in exchange for a fee.

It's another form of the advanced fee scam, which the Federal Trade Commission has also warned about.

The State Department doesn't send out e-mails to specific people about the diversity visa lottery program, which only applies to citizens of countries with low immigration rates into the United States.

Philippine-born applicants are excluded from the Diversity Visa Lottery Program, according to the State Department.

In Manila, the U.S Embassy cited reports that fraudulent e-mails, websites and print ads offering visa services are on the rise.

"In particular, one wide-spread Diversity Visa scam e-mail instructs recipients to send money via Western Union to a fictitious person at the U.S. Embassy in London," says the advisory. "If you have received this e-mail, you have been targeted by con artists."

"UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE should money be sent to any address for participation on the DV Lottery. The Department of State's Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) does not send e-mail notification to DV entrants informing them of their winning entries," the embassy adds.

The embassy advised people who whish to apply for I.S. visas to be cautious before deciding to send by e-mail their personal information, including credit card and bank account numbers.

It said the only official way to register for the DV program is through the official U.S. Department of State website during the specified, limited-time registration period.

The DV program offers up to 55,000 visa slots a year for people who wish to apply for immigration to the United States.