419 scam: "GOOGLE CORPORATION"<info@googleth.com> ***SPAM*** GOOGLE AWARD CODE ***NOT SPAM***

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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.

Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.

Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!

Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
- "mr_williamsmith@w.cn" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
1. They don't notify winners by email.
2. You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
3. They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
4. They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
5. They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
6. They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
7. They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!

Fraud email example:

From: "GOOGLE CORPORATION" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mr.williamssmith@gateam-uk.org>
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:36:18 -0700
Subject: ***SPAM*** GOOGLE AWARD CODE ***NOT SPAM***

If this email is not spam, click here to submit the signatures to FortiGuard - AntiSpam Service.

Google Corporation©

Belgrave House

76 Buckingham

Palace Road

London SW1W 9TQ

United Kingdom

Winning No: GUK/877/798/0147

Batch No: GUK/699/33/1977

GOOGLE AWARD NOTIFICATION.

We wish to congratulate you once again on this note, for being part of our

winners selected this year. This promotion was set-up to encourage the

active users of the Google search engine and the Google ancillary

services.

Hence we do believe with your winning prize, you will continue to be

active and patronage to the Google search engine. Google is now the

biggest search engine worldwide and in an effort to make sure that it

remains the most widely used search engine, we ran an online e-mail beta

test which your email address won 450,000.00 (Four Hundred And Fifty

Thousand Great British Pounds Sterling)

We wish to formally announce to you that you have successfully passed the

requirements, statutory obligations, verifications, validations and

satisfactory report Test conducted for all online winners.

A winning cheque will be issued in your name by Google Corporations,

You have therefore won the entire sum of 450,000.00Gbp (Four

Hundred And Fifty Thousand Great British Pounds Sterling) and also a

certificate of prize claims will be sent along side your winning cheque.

You are advised to contact your Foreign Transfer Manager with the

following details to avoid unnecessary delay and complications:

Google Corporation

Verification Manager.

Mr.Williams Smiths

Email:

mr.williamssmith@gateam-uk.org

mr_williamsmith@w.cn

VERIFICATION AND FUNDS RELEASE FORM.

(1) Your contact address.

(2) Your Tel/Fax numbers.

(3) Your Nationality/Country.

(4) Your Full Name/Sex.

(5) Occupation/Age.

(6) Ever won an online lottery?

(7)How do you feel as a winner?

The Google Corporations has discovered a huge number of double

claims due to winners informing close friends relatives and third parties

about their winning and also sharing their pin numbers. As a result of

this, these friends try to claim the lottery on behalf of the real

winners. The Google Corporations has reached a decision from

headquarters that any double claim discovered by the Lottery Board will

result to the canceling of that particular winning, making a loss for both

the double claimer and the real winner, as it is taken that the real

winner was the informer to the double claimer about the lottery.

So you are hereby strongly advised once more to keep your winnings strictly

confidential until you claim your prize.

Congratulations from the Staffs & Members of the Google interactive

Lotteries Board Commission.

Sincerely,

Google Corporations.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam