E-mail Scams

Unsure about an e-mail you have received?

It is an unfortunate fact that the Internet is widely misused by fraudsters carrying out e-mail scams. Some very common forms of false e-mails seen are as follows:

False claims that people have won on a national / state lottery (known as fake lottery scams).
False claims that people have been left money in a will (known as will frauds).
False requests from banks or other financial institutions for customers to verify their security details (known as phishing frauds).
False requests for help from people to assist in moving large sums of money from one jurisdiction to another, in return for a high percentage fee (known as advanced fee, or "419" frauds).
False requests to people using Internet auction sites to remit monies owed via routes other than the official settlement system run by the genuine Internet site.

If you receive any of these kinds of e-mails and if you are unsure about any e-mail you receive, the best general advice we can give is do not respond to it in any way. Delete the e-mail without replying to it, or forwarding it on to anyone else, or downloading it to your own computer, or printing it.

If you are still unsure about what to do with an e-mail you've received, please feel free to contact us on the details given below and we'll discuss it with you.

Derbyshire Constabulary is aware that names of police officers and departments have been used by fraudsters to try to legitimise their scam e-mails. The e-mail may purport to originate from the Force or contain a reference that suggests it has been sent from the Force, for example an address of a police building. More likely potential victims will be directed to contact an officer or department of the Force to whom they may be required to pay an advance fee to obtain a much larger sum. The fraudsters may claim advance fee will be to pay taxes, or obtain a "clearance certificate", or some other purpose.

These e-mails are false and have not originated from the Force. Fraudsters widely appropriate the identities of companies, government bodies and legal organisations to try to legitimise their scams. If you receive an e-mail or other communication that claims to be from the Derbyshire Police, or any of its officers or departments or any other police force or if you require advice on this subject, please contact us on 0345 123 33 33.

Examples of E-mail Scams

Where there's a Will, there's a way

Imagine your surprise when you receive an e-mail from a legal firm to tell you that you are the only known beneficiary of the will of "Joe Bloggs".

Joe died in an accident on the Kigali Highway and has left millions of dollars. After intense research, the law firm has discovered that you are the only known beneficiary. To confirm the point, they have sent you a copy of what looks like the will of Joe Bloggs, naming you as a beneficiary.

The fraudsters will even create a web site based around the name of a well known law firm where you can find more information and contact telephone numbers.

Do not reply, even out of curiosity. If you do reply, you are only confirming that the email reached someone.

Friend needs money

You get an e-mail from a friend stating that they are in trouble and need some money, usually stating they are abroad. They provide details of how much they want and where to send it providing details to transfer the money via a money transfer bureau like money gram or western union. You send the money in good faith.

This is a scam.

The fraudster has hacked in to your friend's e-mail account, usually from an Internet café and the like and sends everyone in the address book the same e-mail. The fraudster then collects the money transfer from where ever they want. The majority of these scams originate from Canada, but they occur all over the world, making the discovery of the fraudsters very difficult.

E-mail Scams

Unsure about an e-mail you have received?

Examples of E-mail Scams

Where there's a Will, there's a way

Friend needs money

Frauds and Scams