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Avoiding email or social media fraud

Have you received an email or message claiming that a lot of money is waiting for you, deposited in a Royal Bank of Scotland account? Or a person you do not know has lost a family member in a country with financial sanctions and they can not gain access to their millions of pounds inheritance without transferring it through your account ('Kenda Sheriff' from her late father 'Dr Sheriff Tausi')?

Please do not send any money or give your bank account details to the sender. Emails like this are from criminals, and the money they promise does not exist. The sender is using the promise of money to persuade you to send them your cash, or to elicit information from you which will enable them to steal money from your bank account.

A typical story may include some of the features below, but do not assume the email is genuine if they are not included as this is not a complete list:

  • the money has been left by a deceased person in their will, or is from an unclaimed lottery jackpot.
  • fake account numbers and personal details may be quoted in the email.
  • contact details of non-existent bank employees are sometimes quoted.
  • the "From" email address may look like a bank address.
  • the criminals may register an internet domain to make the scam look more real.
  • the email may read awkwardly or have grammatical errors and spelling mistakes, as they often originate abroad.

What to do

If you receive an email like this:

  • do not reply to it, or give the sender any money or information.
  • do not click any links in the email.
  • please forward it to phishing@rbs.com.

If you have already sent money or your account details, please contact us immediately.

Call:

  • 0845 301 5748 (from the UK).
  • +44 131 523 7766 (from outside the UK).

More information on how to spot a scam.

Example email scam:

EURO Million Lottery Award www.lottery.co.uk

This is a formal notification of the just concluded final draws of the Euro Afro millions Yearly promotional program held on 10th November 2012 21:05:45 -0400. Your Email address have won prize money of £2,950,000.00{Two Million Nine Hundred and Fifty Thousand British Pounds Sterling}

Claim.

The online cyber draws was conducted from an exclusive list of 300,000 email addresses of individuals and corporate bodies picked by an advanced automated random computer selection from the web. No tickets were sold. After this automated computer ballot, your email address emerged as one of the five winners in category "B" with the followings winning numbers: Ref Number: EUM DN 0508-9T6 Batch Number: EUM QY-3LJ4 Winning Number: 3510-EM 47

These numbers fall within the England Location file, you are requested to contact our fiduciary agent in England, United Kingdom and send your winning identification numbers to him, he will create a file for you and forward your details to the paying bank{Royal Bank of Scotland} in United Kingdom to release your fund to any nominated bank account of your choice in your country

Accredited Agent

Name: Steward Armstrong

Tel: +447031741880

Fax: +44872 111 7007

Email: stewardagent@rediffmail.com

Email: steward_armstrong@rediffmail.com

You are advised to send the following information to your Claims Agent to facilitate the release of of your fund to you.

  1. Full Name…………………………….
  2. Country..................................
  3. Mobile Number………………..
  4. Winning Email………………….
  5. Amount Won..........................
  6. Ocupation……………………….
  7. Date of Birth………………………

Yours in service,

(Mrs.) Mercy Martins

For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claims is processed and your money remitted to you in whatever manner you deem fit to claim your prize. This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by some unscrupulous elements. Please be warned