These scams are simply getting better!

The Nigerian e-mail scam! Yes, we have all heard about it and I always wondered how they managed to mint money from such bogus emails.

Almost every day we get these mails from cancer-stricken oil barons or exiled royals or dictator widows, who want us to take care of their billions.

The request is almost always the same. . . 'deposit half the amount in a charity, and the other half is yours. Please help me, friend. . . you are the only one I can trust.'

The sob stories were getting a bit monotonous, when I recently received this mail from 'Samsung UK'.

Hitherto, the mails came to undisclosed recipients and were not addressed to anyone in particular. This time the mail landed in my Gmail account, spelt my name correctly, and said my mobile number (again correct) has won 690,000 pounds! Wow! I joked about it with two of my senior colleagues and decided to play along.

I checked the Net and found that such mails had gone out to many others, sent by the same person -- a certain McRandyle Famez, UK Samsung Promoter.

Either their email or their mobile number was selected for the jackpot. The mail might have looked more authentic but for poor usage of language.

To con an unsuspecting candidate, it was complete with the Samsung logo and a disclaimer that it was a 'copyright' of the company. What lengths these people go to!

I then did the absolute no-no. I replied to the mail.

Soon, I got another mail. It said since I have replied promptly, I have also won a host of things including a Samsung mobile phone and a laptop. . . as if the 600,000-odd pounds were not enough! Then the mail went on to helpfully state that the winning cheque would come from the UK bank, Lloyds TSB.

Another mail followed, asking me to get in touch with one Robert Anderson, Director Customer Service Consultant, Lloyds TSB Bank Plc. Of course, there is no such position at Lloyds, and obviously Bobby Anderson too is fictional.

But soon Mr Anderson wrote back, saying: 'Your parcel with identification number: cpel/own/101 is being sent to our affiliate courier company (Cross Country Courier Company).'

It also said, the parcel would contain:

1. Pound 690,000.00 (GBP) paid prize cash (money), winning gift cheque, a Samsung phone and a Samsung outfit wear.

2. Winning certificate from Samsung Promotions.

3. Clear Source of Funds Certificates (C.S.F.C.)

4. Certificates of Origin of Funds (C.O.F.).

5. A brand new HP Pavilion laptop.

6. Letter of affidavits from the British High Court of Justice (there is no such thing in the British legal history. Instead it is High Court of England and Wales), stating that the winning was received legally from the Universal Donation Program, and duly signed by the legal attorney to the UK Samsung Sweepstakes Lottery International Programs.

Through all this, I was wondering just when would Bobby Anderson start demanding money from me -- as that is the final aim of all email scams. He didn't disappoint me: another mail landed in my mailbox.

The mail, which also included the Lloyds logo, said the delivery would be made only to me and I will have to pay the courier charges. And here, somehow I guess the scam comes into effect.

However, I honestly don't have the intention to take this charade any further, and so can't give you a complete picture of what next. . .

However, I did lodge a formal complaint with the Lloyds Bank in the UK.

It left me wondering how easily the scamsters can access our mobile numbers and email IDs. Also to make the mails look genuine they have the audacity to mention that it is a copyright of Samsung and use the Lloyds logo.

So here's the reason for this piece: Be careful about the mails you get, no matter how genuine they appear. A lot of people, including highly educated professionals, have fallen prey to these scams and lost tons of money.

Always check the official web site, and if you need to be doubly sure call the numbers mentioned online and not those mentioned in these mails.

And one last piece of gyan: there are no free lunches. Don't be greedy, if you have not bought a lottery ticket, you simply can't win a prize.