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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.

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

Fraud email example:

From: "Google CorporationsX." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <smith-richards@gala.net>
Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2010 14:46:31 +0100
Subject: Anniversary.

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

GOOGLE ANNIVERSARY WINNING NOTIFICATION.

WINNING NO: GPFSP/77896/211768/2010
TICKET NO: GUK/00189/88176798/2010

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 beta test which you emerged as a winner and therefore you have been awarded the lump sum of GBP 850,000.00 {Eight Hundred and Fifty Thousand Great British Pounds Sterling}.A winning cheque will be issued in your name by Google Promotion Award Team.

We write to officially notify you of this award and to advise you to contact the processing office immediately upon receipt of this message for more information concerning the verification, processing and eventual payment of the above prize to you.

PAYMENT PROCESSING DETAILS/FORM:
PLEASE BE SURE TO INCLUDE.
(1) Your complete contact address
(2) Your Tel/Mobile numbers:
(3) Your Nationality/Country:
(4) Your Full Name:
(5) Occupation/Company:
(6) Age/Gender:
(7) Alternative email account if any:
To file for your claim, Please contact your Validating Officer for VALIDATION of your winning within Twenty-nine working days of this winning notification. Winnings that are not validated within Twenty-nine working days of winning notification are termed void and invalid.
CONTACT:
*************************************************************
THE CLAIMS ADMINISTRATOR
GOOGLE PROMOTION AWARD TEAM
SIR RICHARDS SMITH.
Email:smithrichards@gala.net
: smithrichardsgpa@googlemail.com
Fax: +44 844 7744 946
*************************************************************
NOTE: The Google Promotion Award Team 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 Promotion Award Team 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 receive your prize.

Congratulations from the Staffs & Members of the Google interactive Lotteries Board Commission.
Sincerely,
Dr. Elizabeth Anderson.

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