I have received an email for one of my Gmail accounts, advising me I can claim a cash settlement over Google Buzz. I also received real ones did contain the key line below. It is a phishing scam.

As a Gmail user in the United States, I just received an email that Google was obligated to send as a part of their class action lawsuit settlement regarding the way they introduced Google Buzz this past winter. The web site for the settlement is here and the PDF document that describes the settlement in detail can be found here .

Note that there is no cash settlement. For that matter, Gmail users pretty much don’t get anything. After the lawyers and expenses are paid, the rest will be distributed to organizations that “advance the privacy interests of internet users such as the Class Members.”

Here’s the key line from the email (straight from Google):

Just to be clear, this is not a settlement in which people who use Gmail can file to receive compensation.

So if you get an email asking you to send back personal information to “claim your share of the settlement cash” or directing you to a website to claim it, DON’T FALL FOR IT. It’s a scam. The only official website is linked above and it makes it pretty clear that you won’t get any cash compensation from it.