419 scam: "Google Corporation"<info.award-notification@google.com> 14TH GOOGLE ANNIVERSARY WINNING NOTIFICATION

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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:
- "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- ",000,000" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "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. )
- "gpateamclaims@gala.net" (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!
This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +447024079689 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "Google Corporation" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <gpateamclaims11@gala.net>
Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2010 11:43:17 +0100
Subject: 14TH GOOGLE ANNIVERSARY WINNING NOTIFICATION

Google® MasterCard® Promotion
Peter House
Oxford Street
Manchester
M1 5AN
United Kingdom.
Phone1: +44 702 407 9689
Phone2: +44 702 407 9784
Fax: +44 700 593 0858

GOOGLE® ANNIVERSARY WINNING NOTIFICATION.

Winning No: GPA/7642/17279/2010
Ticket No: GVC/0667/6617279/2010

It is obvious that this notification will come to you as a surprise but please find time to read it carefully as we congratulate you over your success in the this edition of official publication of results in the E-mail electronic online Award organized by Google® Corporation in conjunction with MasterCard® and confirmed by our co-sponsor Msn® International through their latest internet software.

The online cyber draws was conducted from an exclusive list of over 5,000,000 email addresses of individuals and corporate bodies picked by an advanced automated random computer selection from the web. (NO TICKETS WERE SOLD).

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 GBP 850,000.00 {Eight Hundred and Fifty Thousand Great British Pounds Sterling}. A winning cheque will be issued in your name from our office in United Kingdom.

CONTACT THE CLAIMS HEAD OFFICE:
Google® MasterCard® Promotion
Head Office
Suite 427 W Anderson Lane
Austin, TX 78759,
United States.
Email: gpateamclaims@gala.net
Phone: +1 512 541 1220

Do e-mail the Claims head office at once with all the claims requirements below to avoid unnecessary delay.

PAYMENT PROCESSING FORM.
(1) Your contact address----------------------
(2) Your Tel/Fax numbers---------------------
(3) Your Nationality/Country-------------------
(4) Your Full Name------------------------------
(5) Occupation/Company-----------------------
(6) Age/Gender-----------------------------------
(7) Ever won an online lottery?-----------------
(8) How Do You Feel As The Anniversary Winner?-----
(9) Choose from the Mode Of Prize Remittance below.
(i) Cash Pick-Up (You coming Down to United Kingdom Personally to Pick Your Prize).
(ii) Courier Delivery Of your Certified Winning Cheque Name and other Winning Documents safely to you.

Google® believes in your right to privacy. Your information is 100% secure and protected and will be used exclusively for the purpose of this promotion only.

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 Award Board Commission.

Sincerely,

Dr. Eli Anderson.
Coordinator

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam