Can you please give me some information on a company called Western
Group Agency of W.Gertenbachstaat 90, 1106 WC Amsterdam, The
Netherlands.  They are advertisng as a lottery company.  Thank you

Hello trudence,

To quote Monty Python: Spam, spam, spam, spam ....

Every reference on the Web to "W.Gertenbachstaat" is to a suspicious
lottery announcement.  Moreover, if it were a street in Amsterdam, it
would be "W.Gertenbachstraat."

"gertenbachstaat"
Google
://www.google.com/search?q=gertenbachstaat&num=30&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&filter=0

"gertenbachstraat"
Google
://www.google.com/search?q=gertenbachstraat&num=30&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&filter=0

This is just one of several sloppy, suspicious aspects of this recent
e-mail message, which various people have received.

"It's my Lucky Day!" (June 19, 2005)
Crime Online
http://www.crime-online.info/blog/2005/06/its-my-lucky-day.html

A reputable database of urban legends quotes a previous message from
"Western Group Agency" as an example of the "Foreign Lottery Scam."

"Lottery Scam" [third message: "Luckyday Lottery International"]
Urban Legends Reference Pages
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/info/lottery.asp

If this were a real company that could afford to pay such large sums
of money, there would be some indication on the Web that it's real. 
But every indication is that it's fake -- it "exists" solely in these
e-mail messages.

- justaskscott


Search strategy --

Search terms used on Google:

gertenbachstaat
gertenbachstraat
"western group agency"

You have just been invited to contribute to Nigeria's second largest
source of overseas income.

These lottery scams are a variation of what is known as 419 fraud

419 is the Nigerian penal code for Advanced Fee Fraud

The way the Lottery scam works is that they send out these Emails
saying that you've won some lottery that you never entered.

Then they ask you for all sorts of personal details.

Then they say that there is some sort of fee to be paid before you get your prize.

The scammers may come from anywhere, Holland is a favourite, but they
are all from the same bunch.

Here are some links:

http://www.fraudaid.com/ScamSpam/Lottery/index.htm

Google on: 419 nigerian advanced fee fraud
http://tinyurl.com/43rx6

http://www.419eater.com/forum/
www.scamvictimsunited.com 
www.fraudaid.com 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1438872.stm     Joseph Raca
http://home.rica.net/alphae/419coal/
http://www.carbuyingtips.com/fraud.htm

You were wise to post here.