I received following email a week ago. Please read and have fun.

Dear Sir/Madam


We are happy to inform you that you have won a prize money of Eight Hundred Thousand Us Dollar ($800,000.00) for the Year of 2006 lottery promotion which is organized by yahoo.

Every Year end, YAHOO collects all the E-mail id's of the people that are online on yahoo amongst the Millions that subscribe to yahoo, seven people are yearly selected.
Our winners are selected through electronic balloting System without the winner applying.We are congratulate you for being one of the people selected for the year ended 2006.

These are your winning identification numbers.....

Batch number.....................Lwh 09445
Lotto number.......................Lwh09446
Winning number...................Lwh09447

To begin your claims, kindly contact our correspondent Bank for your Prize at centralbknig@netscape.net before 30th of January 2007.Otherwise your prize will be returned unclaimed and will be donated to charity homes.
You are required to forward to the bank with the following details:

1.FULL NAMES
2.COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
3. COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE
4.DATE OF BIRTH
5.OCCUPATION
6.TELEPHONE NUMBER
7.FAX NUMBER(IF ANY)
8.MARITAL STATUS
9.WINNING NUMBER,BATCH NUMBER AND LOTTO NUMBER.
10.BANK ACCOUNT DETAILS WHERE YOUR PRIZE WILL BE REMITTED.
As soon as you contact the Bank,the Manager will advise you on the procedure to claim your prize money.

NOTE: YOU ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO KEEP ALL YOUR WINNING CONFIDENTIAL TILL CLAIM IS MADE TO AVOID WRONG CLAIMING.ANY BREACH OF CONFIDENTIALITY DISQUALIFIES YOU FROM GETTING YOUR PRIZE.

Congratulations!!

Yours Faithfully,
Dr.Austin Owchor Finance Director,
Dr.Williams Elott Claims Agent,
Dr.Ronney Smith Head of Administration.
[YOU MUST BE 16 OR ABOVE TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE]

***************************************************************


Stories on phishing scams have been doing the rounds in the news media for months now, but they still keep producing headlines. But while phishing emails and websites are on the rise, it is straightforward to avoid them.

What is Phishing?
'Phishing' is the term that's given to fraudulent emails and websites that are created by criminals in an attempt to get you to reveal personal details about yourself, usually your bank account information. It's not only banks that criminals masquerade as, either; any institutions involved with money, including shops and subscription services, can be copied, too. They mimic the legitimate websites and communiqués that an institution, such as your bank, would create, except that the data that you enter is sent to the criminal.

When it arrives in your inbox, a phishing email will have one aim in mind: to get you to divulge your bank or credit card details. This is usually as part of a so-called security check or review of your account details, where the sender will act as though you're simply confirming what they already know. You'll be asked to provide your details in one of two ways: either by including them in a reply to the email or by clicking on a link in the email that takes you to a website that's been made to look like that of the institution in question. Here you'll be asked to log in or simply enter your details in a form on the page, at which point your account details are saved and the criminals have all they need to pose as you at the real website of your bank and transfer your money out.

Phishing is prevalent because it's a low-cost, low-effort activity on the part of its perpetrators. Some criminals are so lazy that they don't even bother making their emails look all that authentic, with poor-quality graphics and no attempt made to look like the bank they're posing as.

Spotting the signs
However, many phishing scams are more polished and those are the ones that catch people out. But there are still tell-tale signs to look out for. Firstly, banks and other reputable institutions will never – we repeat, never - send you an email asking you to supply them with your account details. If you do get an email from an institution that you're unsure about, phone them – if it's a legitimate email then they'll be able to confirm it.

Secondly, check the email/site – does it look legitimate? Many phishing emails and websites look like amateur efforts and not like the sort of presentation a large corporation would put out. Thirdly, if you're taken to a phishing site, remember that your bank will never ask for your full security number/password, only a selection of the digits. If you're asked for it in its entirety, you'll know that there's something funny going on.
(source-Yahoo.com)