Football fans should be on the lookout for yet another  “advance fee” e-mail fraud, which plays on our innate snobbery and greed with a notification of a huge lottery win and an exclusive invite to the 2010 World Cup Opening ceremony.

The recipient is told that he has won$3 million by the “Lottery Board” and is given an authentic appearing list of identification verification numbers.  The subject of the e-mail contains the text “A Special Invitation to the 2010 World Cup Opening Ceremony”,  but that’s the only reference to the World Cup (see screenshot below).

This is quite a smart hook, but unfortunately it’s just another case of scammers using a newsworthy event, purely to encourage recipients to open the e-mail.Better just delete the mail, enter your local football pool and watch the opening on TV.