The Perfect Source For Small Office and Home Office (SOHO) Information
Scams To Avoid CHAIN LETTERS
by Jay Lindsay
If the circus and sideshow king P.T. Barnum were alive today, he would be smiling and repeating his famous phrase of "There is a sucker born every minute." I guess we become wiser with age, but it is still amazing the number of scam offers that come across my desk each day. Most are illegal chain letters that always say they are not illegal and I can only guess that there are a few people in the world that still fall for this old con. One of my favorites has a headline which states something to the effect that one can "Earn $50,000 in The Next 90 Days." This one has been around for at least five years and probably much longer. I've seen it come across my desk at least a hundred times. I didn't fall for it the first time and I'm not going to fall for it the 500th time. The instructions for these various chain letters are always similar and I'm sure you've seen some of them. You'll even find 'em now on the Internet. They always tell you that: (1) you're going to get rich, (2) you should recopy the letter, (3) you should remove the first name and place your name at the bottom of the list and (4) you should mail 200, 300, 400 or more copies to friends. The introduction letter always speaks of how rich you will become if only 7% or 10% respond to the offer and mail a certain number of letters to their freinds. Yea, sure!! First, you'd be extremely lucky if 1/10 of 1 percent (.001) of the people who receive it respond. If you do your math you will learn that if you mail 200 pieces of mail, NO ONE will continue the chain and all you've done is lose money. The person who sent you the chain letter is either a crook or someone not smart enough to know a scam when they see one. These chain letters are often cleaverly disguised to give the impression that by participating one is going into a profitable "mail order" business. Don't be fooled. A chain letter is NOT the mail order business. It is purely a SCAM and they are illegal. Oh, and don't think that because one uses the Internet to send the letter they are magically shielded from prosecution and are doing no wrong. Just because one uses the Internet instead of the U.S. mail changes very little -- it only means it is now wire fraud instead of mail fraud. I strongly suggest you stay away from anything, no matter how legitimate it might appear, that states you should send money to the first name, remove that name and add your name at the bottom of the list. Don't take my word for it. Ask a postal inspector, your state's Attorney Generals' Office, The Federal Trade Commission or your attorney. Chain letters are no joke. Send one and you may be provided a cute pair of overalls, a room with grey bars, three not so delicious meals a day and a felony conviction on your record.
|
