Google Online Sweepstakes Promotion (a Laughable Scam)
Google Email Scam
I received a strange email today, claiming to be from Google, stating that I'd won a lot of money in a draw. It said I'd won "£500,000 GBP (Five Hundred Thousand British Pounds) in our online Give-away 1Oth Anniversary draws."
The email, copied and pasted in full below, is either from a moronic individual who believes that people will fall for his/her devious (lol) scam, or Google has employed a moron to run their prize draw. (I seriously doubt this.)
As far as I am aware, Google is not running a 10th anniversary prize draw, and if they were, I am sure that they would have advertised it and everyone on the Internet would have heard about it by now.
From start to finish, the email I received is a shambles, riddled with mistakes, and we could start a competition to see who could find the most of them. The winner gets that £500,000 Google prize money, when it comes. (You can tell I'm joking, right? See, you're no moron.)
Take a look below at the email. The first thing you will notice is that it is sent from a Hotmail account. Why oh why would Google email anyone from Hotmail when they have their very own Gmail hosting? I can't answer that question because I am not a moron.
Go ahead. See how many errors and stupid mistakes you can find.
The Stupid "Google" Email
from: mr_francishenson@hotmail.com
to: undisclosed-recipients
date: Sat, Jun 7, 2008 at 4:42 PM
subject: Attn:
Attn: Googler,
This E-mail is to inform you that you have emerged a winner of
£500, 000.00GBP (Five Hundred Thousand British Pounds) in our
online Give-away 1Oth Anniversary draws. GoogleUK has
successfully organized for the second time a Cash Give-Away
marking 2008 10th Anniversary in the UK. Over £20,000,000.00
(Twenty Million British pounds) is to be given out for this
Anniversary Draws. No purchases of tickets were required.
Participants for the draws were randomly selected from a world
wide range of web searchers who use the Google search engine
(Googler) and other Google ancillary services.
Google is now the biggest search engine worldwide and in an
effort to make sure that it remains the most widely used
search engine, Google is running an e-mail beta test. Your
email address was linked with our Computer Generated Profile
Numbers (CGPN) and attached to the following details: Ticket
number: 00869575733664 / Serial numbers: /BTD/8070447706/06 /
Lucky numbers: 12-12-23-35-40-41(12) / (CGPN) 7-22-71-00-66-12
was picked among our lucky winners to receive ?500, 000.00
British pounds. Winners were selected randomly through a
computer ballot system from worldwide users of the Google
search engine.
YOUR WINNING DETAILS ARE AS FOLLOW:
Computer Generated Profile Numbers (CGPN):7-22-71-00-66-12
Ticket number: 00869575733664
Serial numbers: / BTD/8070447706/06
Lucky numbers: 12-12-23-35-40-41(12)
To claim your give-away prize, send the following Your full
names................. , sex...............................,
Location............................Alternate e-mail
address..................Your winning details.................
To your processing agent (Mr. Francis Henson) who have been
assigned to handle your winning file and payment processing.
Your Processing Agent contact:
Mr. Francis Henson
Email: francis.henson01@gmail.com
We wish you the best of luck as you spend your good fortune.
Thank you
for using Google.
Sincerely,
Ms. Virginia Squier(promo. Director)
The Google Sweepstakes Lottery Scam: Don't Fall for It
If you get one of these emails, tell your friends, tell your family, especially tell all the young and old people you know: don't fall for it! Everyone needs to be warning each other about these things.
Scammers, phishers, and con artists are getting really good at making the email look legitimate enough to fool you (or your kid, or your grandmother). According to a study by the Symantec Security Technology and Response Group (2012), about 156 million phishing (scam) emails are sent globally every day. According to them,
- 16 million of these emails make it through your email spam filters,
- 8 million are opened,
- 800,000 people click the spammy link in the email,
- and 80,000 people fall for a scam every day by inputting their personal information.
That's 80,000 people (including smart people) that fall for a scam every day, so warn everyone you know!
Google Does Not Run Lotteries
The text above was copied from Google's website: "Google doesn't run lotteries, and your email address hasn't been selected to win a prize. Do not reply back with your personal details."
Scam Email Poll
Comments
m.nur alang on October 30, 2015:
What steps and actions if already sending my personal data to spammers that .. ? I as a layman who does not understand their purpose ( spam ) want to cheat with our promising lottery prize of itu..saya get his email td night at 11:54 and I was already sending my personal data according to the direction their email ,, please give explanations or input for who knows their purpose ( spam ) is .. ?
Thank you
m.nur alang
RichardLism on September 24, 2015:
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Illa Samarata on May 27, 2014:
This is my case...I just received an email..
Using the Chairman of Google United Kingdom's name Matt Brittin..Wallawehh..
We wish to congratulate you once again, for being among the Twelve (12) selected winners in the ongoing E-mail Electronic Online Sweepstakes. Hence we do believe with your prize, you will continue to be active in your patronage to Google and its Products. A Bank Draft of £950,000.00 GBP {Nine Hundred and Fifty Thousand Great British Pounds} will be issued in your name by our Foreign Payment Bureau and also a certificate of prize claim will be sent alongside your Bank Draft.
You are advised to contact our Foreign Payment Bureau with the following details below for the Processing of your Claims:
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?
Mode of Price Remittance.
(1) Bank To Bank Wire Transfer.
(2) Courier Delivery Of your Certified Winning Cheque in your Name and other
Winning Documents safely to you.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Contact our Foreign Payment Bureau officer below: Brain Hookson
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer with the E-mail accounts as follows:
Email: gbrain.hookson@careceo.com
b.hookson@ggrouppromo.com
gbrain.hookson@representative.com
gbrain.hookson@yahoo.com.hk
Phone: +44 703 185 7756 …………………………………………………………………………………………………
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
Mercedes on March 24, 2014:
T h i s i s t o i n f o r m y o u t h a t y o u r E m a i l a d d r e s s h a s w o n P r i z e A m o u n t o f
( $ 5 0 0 ,,,, 0 0 0 .... 0 0 ) f o r b e i n g o n e o f o u r a c t i v e W e b - E m a i l u s e r t h i s Y e a r .... T h i s
L o t t e r y p r o m o t i o n w a s o r g a n i z e d b y G o o g l e G m a i l ,,,, Y A H O O ! M a i l ,,,, R e d i f f m a i l &
W i n d o w s L i v e L o t t e r y I N C .... A c h e q u e o f $ 5 0 0 ,,,, 0 0 0 .... 0 0 h a s b e e n i s s u e d a g a i n s t
y o u r W i n n i n g E m a i l a n d h a s b e e n f o r w a r d e d t o M r G a r y P a u l s o n f o r d e l i v e r y
t o y o u r C o u n t r y o f r e s i d e n c e .... Y o u a r e r e q u i r e d t o c o n t a c t M r G a r y P a u l s o n
v i a E m a i l w i t h t h e d e t a i l s b e l o w t o c l a i m y o u r W i n n i n g s ....
1 .... F u l l N a m e : .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
2 .... C o n t a c t A d d r e s s : .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
3 .... A g e : .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
4 .... T e l e p h o n e N u m b e r : .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
5 .... S e x : .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
6 .... O c c u p a t i o n : .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
7 .... C o u n t r y : .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
N a m e : M r G a r y P a u l s o n
g w x a z @ h o t m a i l .... c o m
C o n t a c t :
T h a n k y o u a n d a c c e p t m y h e a r t y c o n g r a t u l a t i o n s o n c e a g a i n !
Karen-Google search prize winner on November 05, 2013:
We wish to congratulate you on this note, for being one of our lucky winners selected this year. This promotion was set-up to encourage the active use of the Google search engine and the iPhone 5S and iPad devices as part of the new launch the Google and iphone 5S afilated Promo ancillary services. Hence we do believe with your winning prize, you will continue to be active and patronage this company. Apple ans Google is now the world leading company search engine worldwide and in an effort to make sure that it remains the most widely used use Phone and search engine, an online e-mail balloting was carried out on the 5th of November 2013, without your knowledge and was officially released recently.
We wish to formally announce to you that your email address was attached to a lump sum of $750,000.00 {Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand United States Dollars} only and iPhone 5S and iPad devices as part of the new launch promo.
A winning Cheque will be issued in your name by the Apple iphone 5S and Google Promotion Award Team, and also a certificate of prize claims will be sent alongside your winning Cheque.
Your Award Winning Details.
Code Number: GUK/356733345871GK
Ticket No: GUK/100827707GK
Winning Number: GUK/993367795678GK
Information required from you is part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program. To claim your won prize and Items, please contact the Google Award claims Courier Company (Dr. Graham Hanson) on this email only (f.courier2@gmx.com)neatly filling the payment release form below.
PAYMENT RELEASE FORM.
*First Name
*Last Name
*Residential Address
*Telephone/ Mobile
*Nationality/Country
*Age
*Occupation/Position
*Sex
*Amount Won
*Alternate Email
*Have you ever been an Online Winner?
**Comment.
You are advised to contact your Foreign Claims Delivery Director with his private email details below to avoid unnecessary delay and complications:
**************************************************
CONTACT GOOGLE /APPLE COMPANY AWARDED COURIER COMPANY FOR CLAIMS
Dr. Graham Hanson
Head Of Delivery Fedex Express Courier (Asian Zone)
E-mail: f.courier2@gmx.com
Tel: +91-9582675462
Fax: +44 70111 4700
************************************************
For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claims have been processed and your money remitted to you. This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program. Please be warned.
Note: You can fill your payment release form by printing and manually filling or you can fill directly on mail, or provide the details on Microsoft Word.
Please do not reply if you are NOT the owner of this email address.
Congratulations from the Staff & Members of Google Board And New Apple I Phone 5S Promo Commission
Yours SincerelyRegional Coordinator,
Professor Grace Bono
Jano T. on October 15, 2013:
I've received such an email:
"Dear Google User.
Attached to this email is your anniversary notification for being an
active user of Google.
Sincerely.
Mr. Larry Page
CEO of Google UK"
An attachment contained the following text:
"OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION LETTER.
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.) held here in London UK. Google earns its profit mainly from advertising using their very own Google search engine, Gmail , Gala,
Sify, e-mail service Google Maps, 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. Hence we do
believe with your prize, you will continue to be active in your patronage to Google and its Products. A Bank Draft of £950,000.00 GBP {Nine Hundred and Fifty
Thousand Great British Pounds} will be issued in your name by our Foreign Payment Bureau and also a certificate of prize claim will be sent alongside your
Bank Draft.
You are advised to contact our Foreign Payment Bureau with the following details below for the Processing of your Claims:
FOREIGN 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:
Mode of Price Remittance.
Cash Pick-Up (You as the Beneficiary coming Down to UK to receive your Award Personally).
Courier Delivery Of your Certified Winning Cheque in your Name and other Winning Documents safely to you.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Contact our Foreign Payment Bureau officer below:
Larry Page
Chairman of the Board and Managing Director of Google Inc. with the E-mail accounts as follows:
Email 1: gp.award.larryp@googlemail.com
Email 2: larry.p.guk@outlook.com
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
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.
Larry Page,
Chairman of the Board and Managing Director,
Google United Kingdom.
©2013 Google Corporation."
chinnaa on September 16, 2013:
Google 13th Anniversary Awards Centre94 Marylebone High Street, London W1U 4RY, United Kingdom
Attention R.Chinnarasu
We have prepared your winning certificate and your winning amount 500,000.00GBP is ready to be disburse to you .It will be send through the fastest means and easier means . The funds will be package and sealed in cash along with your winning documents to show the authenticity and genuineness of the funds .
The winning prize 500,000.00GBP will be package in a security safe with lock code to prevent any one from opening ,The safe will be send through Diplomatic courier service to India as a diplomatic consignment. One (HP Laptop )and a mobile phone, will be present to you as a gift at the time of delivery by our diplomatic representative assigned along with the diplomatic courier.
Our representative will be coming to India along with the consignment to assist you for the clearance of the consignment (safe) from India customs warehouse after the clearance the consignment will be delivered at your doorstep by our representative. You are to pay for Indian custom charges for the clearance of the consignment before it can be release to our representative for delivery ( Custom charge fee 15,800.00rs ONLY) Our representative will be giving you a call at arrival in India ,You are to take instructions and directives from him on how to make your payment for clearance.
Your consignment will be leaving (Google Company) vault room on this evening 11/09/2013) and get to India by 12/09/2013 by 09:15am) .Please you are to take very good care of our representative
For more details:Contact of our representativeName:Diplomat David Fletcher IMPORTANT: We cannot deduct charges fees from your winnings prize because it has been insured to its full value of amount and enclose as a diplomatic delivery in your favor and been already dispatched. Also, we do not accept Cash On Delivery (C.O.D) as it is strictly against the policy of this Courier Firm as laid down by the Management of this Courier Agency.
We congratulate once again, you are to keep your winning secret till you receive your funds this is to avoid anybody to steal your winning information's because if there is a call for double claim you may loose your chance of receiving the global amount. We wish you good luck and congratulations once again. Sincerely Yours, Dr. CiborJeronimE-Mail:googledraw1@hotmail.co.ukTel: +448719743446 +447010059817Fax: +447049563
Date: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 21:39:05 -0700
Subject: winning amount collecting purpose..............
To: googledraw1@hotmail.co.uk
1. Full Names: R.Chinnarasu
2. Age :26
3. Sex : Male
4. Contact Address :
5. Occupation :
6. Phone and fax numbers :
7. Country of Residence:
8.Email ID:
My question this mail i got this is true of falls?please anwer to me?
Chris on September 08, 2013:
Funny, it looks similar to mine. I received this scam twice.
sabrina on August 26, 2013:
Here's another e-mail I received today from Google Incorporations [nmartine@ucab.edu.ve]:
Google UK Ltd
Belgrave House
76 Buckingham Palace
Road London SW1W 9TQ
United Kingdom.
Ref No: GFSP/ 7748/782/2013
Batch: GFSP/ 955/GPWIN/UK
OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION LETTER.
It is obvious that this notification will come to you as a surprise but please find