419 scam: "Google Incorporated" <googleteam.news@googlemail.com> (no subject)

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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:
- "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 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.
- guk.trevor.allan@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Google Incorporated" <googleteam.news@googlemail.com>
Reply-To: guk.trevor.allan@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2012 04:34:04 -0300
Subject:

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

Winning No: GUK/877/798/2012
Ticket No: GUK/699/33/2012
Notification Date: 8/8/2012

GOOGLE ANNIVERSARY WINNING 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.

The online draws was conducted by a random selection of email addresses
from an exclusive list of E-mail addresses of individuals and corporate
bodies picked by an advanced automated random computer search from the
internet. However, no tickets were sold but all email addresses were
assigned to different ticket numbers for representation and privacy. The
selection process was carried out through random selection in our
computerized email selection machine (TOPAZ) from a database of over
250,000 email addresses drawn from all the continents of the world.

This Lottery is approved by the British Gaming Board and also Licensed by
the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR).This lottery is
the 3rd of its kind and we intend to sensitize the public.

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 £950,000.00 {Nine Hundred And Fifty
Thousand Great British Pounds Sterling} A winning cheque will be issued in
your name by Google Promotion Award Team.

Please you are advised to complete the form below and send it immediately
to our Claims Administrator through email or fax for prompt collection of
your winning fund.

The Claims Administrator Google Promotion Award Team.

Mr. Trevor Allan
Google Promotion Award Team
Email: guk.trevor.allan@gmail.com
You are advised to contact your Claims Administrator with the following
details to avoid unnecessary delay and complications:

PAYMENT PROCESSING DETAILS/FORM.
(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) Have you ever won an online lottery?
(8) What is your comment on Google Product and services?
(9) Alternative email account if any:

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,
Dr. Leslie Spears.
Google Promotion Award Notification Dept.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam