419 scam: "GOOGLE CORPORATION" <headmaster@maseruprep.co.ls> Ref No: GUK/ 8900/88/2014

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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:

An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
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)
- "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. )
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.
- +447045730284 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- dr.daviddrum@email.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "GOOGLE CORPORATION" <headmaster@maseruprep.co.ls>
Reply-To: google_claims@yeah.net
Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 01:06:43 GMT
Subject: Ref No: GUK/ 8900/88/2014

Google UK Ltd
Belgrave House
76 Buckingham Palace Road
London SW1W 9TQ
United Kingdom.

RE: OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION LETTER.

Ref No: GUK/ 8900/88/2014
Batch: GUK/ 955/GPKLI/UK

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 following
official publication of results of the E-mail Electronic
Online Sweepstakes Organized by Google, in conjunction with
the foundation for the Promotion of Software Products
(F.P.S.). Google earns its profit mainly from advertising
using their very own Google search engine, Gmail, Gala,
Sify, e-mail service GoogleMaps, Google Apps, Orkut social
networking and You Tube video sharing, which are all offered
to the public for free.

We wish to congratulate you once again, for being among the
Twelve (12) selected winners in the ongoing E-mail
Electronic Online Sweepstakes; we do believe with your
prize, you will continue to be active in your patronage to
Google and its Products. A Bank Cheque have been issued in
your favor, hence you have won for yourself the sum of
Ј950.000.00 (Nine Hundred and Fifty Thousand Great
British Pounds Sterling),
One Google Nexus 10 Tablet and also you have been enlisted
as one of the Google Ambassadors for 2014.

To claim your reward, please contact our Foreign Payment
Bureau officer below by neatly filling the verification and
funds release form below, as your payment will be released
and arranged by our United Kingdom Office.

MANDATORY FOREIGN PAYMENT RELEASE FORM.
(1) Your Contact Address:
(2) Your Contact Telephone/Mobile Number:
(3) Your Nationality/Country:
(4)Your Full Names:
(5) Occupation:
(6) Age/Gender:
(7) Marital Status:
(8) Private Email Address:
(9) Ever Won An Online Lottery?
(10) How Do You Feel As A Winner?
(11) Your preferred mode of prize remittance stated below:
* Courier Delivery of your certified winning cheque
in your name and other Winning documents safely to your home
address.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Contact our Foreign Payment Bureau officer below:
Dr David C. Drummond
Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Chief Legal
Officer with the E-mail account as follows:
Email: dr.daviddrum@email.com
Phone Contact: +447045730284
……………………………………………………………………………………………

Note: You can either fill your claims verification form by
printing and manually filling out the requested details or
you can fill directly on e-mail, or provide the details on
Microsoft Word.

NOTE: For security reasons, you are advised to keep your
winning information confidential till your claims are
processed and your money remitted to you. This is part of
our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and
unwarranted abuse of this program by some unscrupulous
elements. Please be WARNED!!!!

Congratulations from the Staffs & Members of Google Board
Commission.

MD Matt Brittin,
Chairman of the Board and Managing Director,
Google United Kingdom
©2014 Google Corporation.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam