A Google Product Too Far?

There are now so many 'Google' products and services out there that it is easy to believe that 'Google' have a finger in every pie; a bit like the 'Virgin' empire, well almost.

We have 'Google Search, Google Mail, Google Talk, Google Reader, Google Adwords and Adsense, Google Docs and Spreadsheets, Google Notebook and the latest ones I know about are Google Checkout and Google's answer to Powerpoint'. The list is almost endless!

So with that in mind, how many of you out there have received an e-mail that reads like this one for 'Google Lottery'?:



Excellent, a 'Million Euros' would be most welcome...

OK, now how many of you have believed you have actually won something?

Go on, hands up, yes that includes you hiding at the back there! ;-)

If it was really from 'Google', why oh why does the named agent use an 'AIM' e-mail account? Surely they should use a 'Gmail' or 'Googlemail' one?

Yes, this is another 419, aka Nigerian or Advance-Fee-Fraud. More details on these can be found here, and I'll have an new article on 419s which I wrote for Virus Bulletin and was published in the April edition available here shortly.

I'm still waiting for 'Google' to make swimmimg goggles...that would be almost as ironic as 'Virgin condoms*'.


(*Yes, I know they exist!)