MOH Forum: A Postal-Mail Chain Letter?

A Postal-Mail Chain Letter?

Posted By:
Maegan
in Tampa, FL - USA
Nov 14, 2004

I received this chain letter in my mailbox:

Dear Friend,
Greetings: I am a retired attorney. A few years ago a man came to me with a letter. He asked me to verify the fact that this was legal to do. I told him I would review it and get back to him. When I first red the letter my client brought me, I thought it was some "off-the-wall" idea to make money. A week and a half later we met in my office to discuss the issue. I told him the letter he originally brought me was not 100% legal. My client then asked me to later it to make it perfectly legal. I asked him to make one small change in the letter.

***
It goes on for another 2 pages about how if you send $1 to the 6 names on the list & you will make $800,000.00 in just 3 months. You pay for a list of names to send letters to. I KNOW this is a scam. I just can't figure out how I got it. It came to me at my married name (junk-mail tends to come to my maiden name), & it came to my actual house address. (My driver's license lists my PO Box & if you look me up at the DMV, the physical address is actually my prior residence...haven't had time to change it yet.) The phone & electric aren't registered in my name, they're registered to my husband. (There's not a water bill, we have a well.)

What I wanna know is: How did this come to me, with my correct name at my current physical address??? The 'person' who sent the letter is: Mr. Louis Jordan/1234 Shakespeare Avenue/Apt # 2E/Bronx, NY 10452

Also, a co-worker recently had someone slip this same letter under his door at his apartment building...Anyone hear anything about this??

Category: Scams; Replies: 1759

Comments

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That Darn Blister	Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 \| 10:13 PM Have you ever even bothered to stop and talk to folks in wheelchairs, OB-1? From the way you wrote, I suspect you haven't. Here's a suggestion: go out and rent the movie Murderball, watch it, and come back to tell us more about people in wheelchairs.
nmill77 Member	Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 \| 10:09 AM @OB-1 that is so funny. He is quite sarcastic and annoying(CMG). and no we are not upset at the truth we are upset at the rude manner in which you present the truth. I could care less if you say it's illegal the entire government operates illegally with their own loopholes to allow the rich to get richer and again check out your local postal news in fact ill get back to you with some and despite chain letters being illegal im positive the postal service would and has let them slide to benefit from them because we are in dire need of mail. and they don't care where it comes from
nmill77 Member	Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 \| 10:23 AM http://www.postalmag.com/ try this cite cmg, let's see, we are looking at a 7 billion dollar loss 7. wow! and why? decreased mail volume. which is why they are trying to cut sat. mail. which will cut even more hours for employees. so look at the big picture genius AGAIN the post office is in a financial crisis the first time in postal history. THE POST OFFICE DOES NOT CARE ABOUT CHAIN LETTERS!!!! if you still want to believe that through all the bargaining and laying off and political fighting they are going to spend money that they DON"T have to prosecute and to actually take away even more mail then you are just retarded. But if all you want is to be right then ill say it yea it is illegal but guess what right now they don't care.
That Darn Blister	Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 \| 12:04 PM nmill77, have you ever considered that if they turn a deliberate blind eye to the laws like that, they could be shut down or the top postal service administration could be charged with corruption for it? We're talking about laws dating from the Great Depression, when things were even WORSE than they are now. The folks back then saw first hand how much damage chain letters actually did.
Cranky Media Guy	Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 \| 05:36 PM nmill77, you have a lovely theory going there. Unfortunately, it is FACTUALLY INCORRECT. On more than one occasion I have explained to you that this very thread contains links to cases recently brought by the U.S. Postal Service's investigative unit against people operating chain letters. Since actually looking at those links would invalidate the story you have talked yourself into (and wish to convince others of), you have refused to allow FACT to get in the way of your belief. "THE POST OFFICE DOES NOT CARE ABOUT CHAIN LETTERS!!!!" Wrong! "if you still want to believe that through all the bargaining and laying off and political fighting they are going to spend money that they DON"T have to prosecute and to actually take away even more mail then you are just retarded." WRONG! They CAN and DO prosecute people for operating chain letters. Your belief to the contrary simply doesn't matter. You are FACTUALLY INCORRECT and repeating it will not change that. "But if all you want is to be right then ill say it yea it is illegal but guess what right now they don't care." Still WRONG.
jamesomusic	Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 \| 02:11 PM Well there goes all my hopes and dreams.....I've already ordered my list and made my letter copies.I've added all my bills up so I can pay them when I start receiving my dollar bills in the mail.I've tuned in to Disney vacations ticket sales, and bought me some loud vacation clothes, and shades.Done everything except make hotel reservations. It's like everything else in life, there is no guarantee that you or I will be living in the next ten minutes.What,s 200 bucks, compared to not ever taking a chance, buying a lottery ticket or rolling the dice, somebody has got to loose and somebody has got to win.Every time it doesn't work out for some, they always holler "scam".Read the fine print...It says if only 7.5% participate (and that sounds reasonable) that you will receive $800,000.00 That is, if all the way down the line ,7.5% participate, and are honest. Since I have my list, and copies, in hand, I'm doing it, and will post the outcome in 6 weeks. If I forget,please email me and remind me,I may be on Vacation, down in Mickeyland. Or dragging My poor old wife behind me, On the 3rd of the month,(I'm old too) trying to pay more bills than I have money for.Hey you'all for crying out load,stop the bickering and insulting one another.God loves you'all.Farrrr out!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote by the late John Denver.
Cranky Media Guy	Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 \| 06:31 PM You know, jamesomusic, it's amazing to me that people like you will insist on believing in the impossible no matter how many times the illogic of the thing is carefully explained. ".Read the fine print...It says if only 7.5% participate (and that sounds reasonable) that you will receive $800,000.00 That is, if all the way down the line ,7.5% participate, and are honest." Since as you say, 7.5% is not a high level of participation, shouldn't there be hundreds, perhaps thousands of people living off their $800k at any given time in America? Know any? Ever heard of any? So, let's see...a person who stands to benefit from telling you that story wrote it and you BELIEVED it without question. I mean, there's no chance they'd just make that up to get you to give them your 200 bucks, right? Here's my version: A person sends out maybe a thousand copies of that letter. Let's say 7.5% of them send him $200 each. When the dust settles, he has $15,000. Pretty good for a little work and spending a few bucks on stamps, huh? I think MY version is closer to reality than yours.
jamesomusic	Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 \| 09:50 AM Hello Cranky; Well you make sense, and I have decided to alter the whole thing, since it cost so much, and if it will work with 200 letters, why would it not work with 50 letters. If 200 letters will net you 800k, why wouldn't fifty letters net you 200k? If it works at all. It might be worth the chance? I spent 50.00 on gas this week and didn't get nowhere.lol. No one person gets the 200 bucks, so how could it be a scam. Who is the scammer, the USPS (stamps)? The Mailing List Seller, The envelope Seller? or The 6 people who get the Dollar. The only thing is, who will make sure the 6 bucks is mailed out. If every one were honest as they should be, we wouldn't need Preachers to tell us to be honest, we wouldn't need Policemen and Judges to inforce us to be honest and there would be no such thing as insurance. Everyone would pay up when they injured someone or damaged their property.and on and on.People are basically honest,but sometimes greed gets in the way.The jails are full of them, good honest people who let one little dishonest decision ruin their whole life. What ever happened to a little faith in mankind, people helping people.Yours faithfully; James
Cranky Media Guy	Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 \| 06:40 PM jamesomusic said: "No one person gets the 200 bucks, so how could it be a scam." And you know that how exactly? You should know that it is not unheard of for a person operating a chain letter to use multiple names to insure that they get much or all of the money. "What ever happened to a little faith in mankind, people helping people." 'People helping people' is the classic phrase scam artists use in things like chain letters. It has NOTHING to do with 'people helping people' or 'everyone being honest' or any of that stuff. Chain letters don't work because chain letters CAN'T work mathematically. There is NO rhetoric, no matter how kumbaya-sounding, that can MAKE one work. It's really just that simple, although people just don't want to believe it. If chain letters worked, why would we need the stock market? The "return on investment" would be SO much better than any stock one can buy.
That Darn Blister	Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 \| 02:44 AM Dear jamesomusic, 7.5% is so preposterously high that advertising agencies would show you the door out if you tried to claim a non-targetted ad campaign (such as your letter) resulted in such. Try less than 1%. Also, please read these from your region of the United States: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1842&dat=19700918&id=micsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=H54FAAAAIBAJ&pg=4108,3030295 http://www.tbr.state.tn.us/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=4778 (please see TN law 39-17 -506( c)(3) Lotteries, chain letters and pyramid clubs) http://www.tn.gov/mental/policy/forms/Felony_Misdemeanors_List.pdf Hmm, is this your Twitter? http://twitter.com/ekyprogressive
jamesomusic	Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 \| 01:32 PM I'm beginning to see the picture. And you had me worried about breaking the law.So I ask a policeman friend of mine, if I was breaking the law, and let him read my letter, he said, nope I don't think so, but I wouldn't do it . Duh! Now that I'm convinced, does anyone want to buy a fresh mailing list of 200 names for 20 buck? That I purchased, before I saw the light? Just kidding, I think I will save them until Christmas, and mail all these people a Christmas card. They will all wonder who it came from. And maybe I will say something like "from a secret admirer", just kidding. Lost all faith in Chain Letters; James.
jamesomusic	Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 \| 01:49 PM Hello, it's me again.I am very old and am on a fixed income.Does anyone out there have a way of making honest money on this computer that isn't a scam, and that will not cost any upfront money. So far my bills run about $185.00 more than I draw. Now I have been selling off my record collection for about 5 years, and am running out of records.I also so sell a few nice or new shoes, from time to time. THe chain letter deal seamed like the answer at the time. I want to thank "Cranky", and "that darn Blister"for pointing me in the right direction. Now that's "people helping people". Keep up the good work and senper-fi from an old jarhead....God bless the men and woman in uniform; Jim
Cranky Media Guy	Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 \| 02:02 PM jamesomusic, well, there's the mathematically impossibility of the whole thing BUT it's ALSO illegal. Go back through this thread and you'll find many links to the relevant laws and to what the U.S. Postal Service says about chain letters on its website. Blister is right, by the way. I hadn't thought of it like that but it's true that direct mail campaigns typically get less than a 1% return. Somewhat similarly, once upon a time I worked for a telemarketer, cold-calling people on behalf of a credit card. It was in a large room full of people all working phones. If you got 2% of the people you called to sign up for a Visa card, you were like the Hero of the Day. So you have an extraordinarily high percentage of people who need to respond PLUS the whole thing is illegal in the first place. Not looking too good, is it?
Karla J	Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 \| 06:07 PM I love chain letters. My mind goes wild. I will send the folks the 6 dollars to get involved with my name on the list. Then I will send out 200 of the letters. If we keep it honest..perhaps we can make a good deal of money. It is illegal to do a chain letter. Under all precepts..this is one. However, the loop hole is they are selling the list to you. You are requesting them to add your name to their mailing list. Mailing houses come about like this. Also, a dollar is a dollar and if someone else is making money on this..so will I. Never hurts to try. email me if your interested. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Cranky Media Guy	Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 \| 07:01 PM Karla, you have obviously not read any of this thread. Every point you made has been addressed and refuted over and over here. PLUS, you are advertising an illegal service in an open public forum. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Cranky Media Guy	Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 \| 12:51 AM dealsfinder said: "CRANK MEDIA GUY - You can't tell me it doesn't work because theoretically, it can." Uh, I can't tell you whether it does doesn't work because I don't understand what you're trying to say. Something about 10 people each sending you $10? So you come out $100 ahead. What's in it for them?
Frederick	Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 \| 11:00 AM CMG whats happened with this site, no more visitors or feed back on chain letters since July?
James	Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 \| 11:44 AM yep everybody was right, but I had to see for myself. I did it and sent the 6 bucks and 200 letters at a cost of (I can't remember lol). well I received 1 (ONE) dollar. dahhhhhhhhhhhh. A scam if I have ever seen one.There are a lot of ways to make money, but no easy ones. The best is gainful employment. If you only make a feww dollars, that's more than you had. But don't send your money to these dummies(did I say that?)DO the best you can and help others when you can, and thinfgs will come back to you tenfold.not always in monatery value ,but many,many other things way more inportant than money.I'll get off of here for now, hope I helped someone along life's way; Jim
karla	Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 \| 01:36 PM Ok. Enough said...almost. The thing is I want to get rich without doing anything. Lately, the best way to check your mail is to see if you signed up for one of those "group" lawsuits. Yes...and we won. Out of the blue I recieved a check for $600. Wow..talk about express mail. So, if you were ever on paxil..most on this website mostly were?? Surely, anyone interested in this topic would be on paxil..so there is a community lawsuit for damages. Join in..you may get a check for what it did for your brain. OUCH! I only took one pill..thought someone swapped my meds..lol..
Cranky Media Guy	Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 \| 05:54 PM Frederick said: "CMG whats happened with this site, no more visitors or feed back on chain letters since July?" It kind of comes and goes in spurts. I can only speak for myself but I tend to post only when I get notice that someone has added something new to the thread.
James	Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 \| 11:09 AM Meegan; Actually, Louis Jordan was a black blues singer in the 30's and 40's. and Shakespeare, well, you know who he was... "Romeo Romeo Where for art thou Romeo" And to thyn own self be true? Or was that Brother Dave Gardner? Anyway, Get a steady job(income) and Do your best, and all will work out fine "What ye shall sow,so shall ye reap? Did you know that almost all Super Markets have your address and Phone number, and where you work and What you had for breakfast this morning, well almost all of that. Every time you buy on E-bay and every time you buy from a mail order co., they get all you information, and could pass it along to all these other people, and most likely could get paid for doing so. The next time you visit a store and get to the cash register, and they say phone no.or zip code, or address please. Say sorry, I do not give out that information. Most stores, can tell you what you purchased there in the last few years and how much you spent.
James	Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 \| 11:30 AM OK KARLA; If you worked for minimum wage,$7.50, for 2 weeks(80 hrs.) You would have $600.00, and another two weeks another $600.00 and so on and on. Now you can find "easy" work or hard work. There is no such thing as "easy" work. Work is work and not to be confused with slacking, dodging, hiding, and trying to shift the load to someone else. If you received money through false pretense, "The Ill gotten gains will do you no good" you know...By the sweat of the brow? When something sounds too good to be true, it usually isn't.Regarless of how much faith you have. "A bum steer is a bum steer" James
TherealJamesomusic	Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 \| 03:27 PM excuse me, but that is my twitter account, my email account, and I don't do chain-letters, so WTF.
James	Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 \| 08:52 AM Well I didn't know that oops!. Now I have an email address and an ebay account going back several years. Someone somehow got into it the other day,and listed 183 I-phones and 20 pairs of shoes, at a cost of over $400.00 to me, and by the way, there were 3 I-phones that sold, at $600.00 each, and they paid me through my paypal account. So all of a sudden, I had about $1800.00 in my account, that I did not have anything to do with. Well the nice lady at ebay helped me to cancel all the transactions and return all the money, They even gave me $10.00 so my account would not be in the negative,(I think I had $2.00 in it at the time) There you go "thereal" it can happen to anyone. at any address. The best thing (ebay told me)is to change your password often and make it difficult, with small and large case letters, punctuation, and numbers. Hope this helps. Sorry about my mistake. In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue, or was it in 1493,Columbus sailed the deep blue sea.lol, Happy Columbus day.
NowWhat	Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 \| 09:13 AM I wondered if this letter was a scam. I waited a few days and then decided to send in the $33 to see what would happen. I still have no idea how it works. Guess I join the ranks of being out my $33. So while we're on here learning about the scam and warning others, they are still out there raking in all this money. I question why it's illegal just because it overwhelms the post office. Every business advertises by sending out fliers as do the candidates for the elections and Christmas packages. Why should trying to make a living by asking people to pay for something in order to make something be illegal? If not the post office what other system could one use (aside from Fed Ex and UPS) Times are tough and now I'm out $33 more. Great! I didn't do anything wrong but send in the money and get ripped off. Shrug!
Cranky Media Guy	Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 \| 01:48 PM NowWhat said: "I question why it's illegal just because it overwhelms the post office. "Why should trying to make a living by asking people to pay for something in order to make something be illegal?" Well, "overwhelming" the post office is one issue. There's also the fact that chain letters are a SCAM. As has been explained many times in this thread, they don't work because they CAN'T work mathematically. The postal service should not be used to promote an illegal scam. Please take a look at more of this thread. You'll see many explanations of why chain letters CANNOT work.
hopefully	Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 \| 11:14 PM So, let's see...a person who stands to benefit from telling you that story wrote it and you BELIEVED it without question. I mean, there's no chance they'd just make that up to get you to give them your 200 bucks, right? Here's my version: A person sends out maybe a thousand copies of that letter. Let's say 7.5% of them send him $200 each. When the dust settles, he has $15,000. Pretty good for a little work and spending a few bucks on stamps, huh? Cranky guy. What are you getting at here. Who is sending who 200 dollars? The only money any one would be out in six bucks plus the cost of stamps and copys.
Cranky Media Guy	Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2010 \| 01:15 AM hopefully said: "Cranky guy. What are you getting at here. Who is sending who 200 dollars? The only money any one would be out in six bucks plus the cost of stamps and copys." Hmm, actually I'm not sure what I was referring to with the $200 figure. I'm sure it made sense at the time. 😊 Anyway, the bottom line hasn't changed. Chain letters are illegal and don't work mathematically, no matter the amount you put in. In this lousy economy, if they DID work, you'd expect to be hearing lots of stories about people who were in dire straits and got out of them by participating in a chain letter. Heard any stories like that yet? I haven't.
country girl;	Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 \| 08:33 PM I think your all bunch of idiots, geez. read the letter.
Cranky Media Guy	Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 \| 01:42 AM "I think your all bunch of idiots, geez. read the letter." Yes, we HAVE read the letter, Country Girl. What's your point? Oh, by the way, the word you wanted is "you're," not "your." If you're going to call other people idiots, it helps if you don't make stupid grammatical errors yourself. You're welcome.
jamesomusic	Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 \| 12:56 PM Well here I am again. Now listen and listen close. I mailed out the 200 letters I sent the six bucks, and followed the plan to the "T". After being warned by everybody around me I still did it. Results ...spent over $200.00, received back $2.00 . It has been 3 months or longer. Now for my input...don't do it. You can do all the math you want, and write it any way you want, but in the end it did not work for me.And now I am convinced it does not work for anyone else. Take warning, somebody makes money...the Post Office (Legal)...the List people (legal),The six people you sent a buck to. Don't know if that is legal or not. Please do not check my spelling, I only finished the 7th grade,(didn't pass for the second time) was working nights to help support my family, lied about my age and joined the Marine Corps.To Fight for my country.My base Pay for a private in 1960 ,was about $80.00 a month. I sent an allotment home each month for $50.00. I was born poor, and have worked all my life, so I know what it is to be scammed. What really took me in, was the letter from the Educated Lawyer, Shame on him( the rat) Any "Jar heads" out there? Semper-Fi PS...You know how to tell if it is a skunk or a lawyer that has been run over by a car? Give up? There will be skid marks before the skunk.
Jamikay	Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 \| 07:04 PM It's amazing how we trust the government more than we trust our fellow man. It's a chance to help others and yourself at the same time. There is also a statement in the letter stating to save 20%, tithe 10%, bills 10%, taxes 30%, family and self 30%. Seriously is it really so bad out there that we can't help each other. We will put in the money for the government approved lotteries in the hopes of hitting the big one, what are the odds in that. Call it illegal but if it were the government putting this letter out there they would surely get their piece of it and we would be standing in lines to mail these letters.
Cranky Media Guy	Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 \| 01:27 AM Jamikay said: "It's amazing how we trust the government more than we trust our fellow man." There's no reason to trust people who are running a mathematically-impossible scam. "It's a chance to help others and yourself at the same time." No it's not. If you had taken any time to read this thread, you would have seen exactly WHY chain letters aren't a "chance to help yourself and others." It's been explained in detail at least ten times. Do yourself a favor and take a few moments to read it.
jamikay	Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 \| 12:03 PM Give me specific pages to read there are 87 and I am not going to sit and read them all. So you're telling me that there is no such thing as pay it forward? Woe to those that do use this to cheat other people but I'm sure that there are people who believe that this might work. If it does or doesn't the odds are the same as buying lottery. My Mom has played lottery since it began at $32 dollars a month and still no big win. I'm sure that the government got part of that money that she INVESTED in lottery, but...that's legal. So I would say that the odds are the same. Also if you recall lotteries were illegal until the government wanted a piece of the pie.
Cranky Media Guy	Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 \| 02:00 PM "Give me specific pages to read there are 87 and I am not going to sit and read them all." Hey, how about if I come to your house and read it to you? Is THAT convenient enough for you? We wouldn't want you to spend a few minutes of your precious time to become educated on this subject. "So you're telling me that there is no such thing as pay it forward?" No, what I'm telling you is that chain letters are illegal and DO NOT WORK. That has been explained many times in this thread but a busy person like you doesn't have the time to read that information. "Woe to those that do use this to cheat other people but I'm sure that there are people who believe that this might work." There are people who believe the Earth is flat but that doesn't make it true. Belief does not create FACT. "If it does or doesn't the odds are the same as buying lottery." Uh, no. Again, your belief does NOT make something true. All the points you have tried to make have been made in this thread by other people and refuted. You'd know that if you took the time to read some of it but you're clearly MUCH too busy to take the time to learn why you're wrong. Good luck.
hcmomof4 in So. Cal. Member	Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 \| 03:07 PM Buying lottery tickets is a VERY poor investment plan...
Cranky Media Guy	Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 \| 03:40 AM "Buying lottery tickets is a VERY poor investment plan..." Yup, that's why the ads always say, "For entertainment purposes only."
Jamikay	Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 \| 12:34 PM CMG you're right, there is no light at the end of the tunnel and life is truly a b---- and then you die. The fact is, is that you are born to live what ever life you want regardless of what other people may think and then you die. No chances, no thrill, no fantasy just facts. I feel sorry for you because you'll always explain the hope that people hang on to away. Did you tell your children that there was no Easter bunny, no Santa Claus, no birthdays, no holidays how sad for you. and yours.
Cranky Media Guy	Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 \| 01:48 PM Jamikay said: "Did you tell your children that there was no Easter bunny, no Santa Claus..." Did you teach YOURS that 2 + 2 = 5? The fact is that not one but several explanations of exactly why chain letters do not work are readily available to you but you choose not to make the simple effort to read them. That's called "willful ignorance." There's nothing unusual or abnormal about a CHILD believing in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. An ADULT who believes in them, however, IS abnormal. You are making a conscious decision to believe in the equivalent of Santa and the Easter Bunny. Time to grow up, Jamikay.
Quixjote	Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 \| 07:19 PM Wow, This thread has gone on quite a while... And yet I got my first Chain Letter only today... CMG: While your information is spot-on, your approach is rather harsh at times, you obviously care enough to stay on this thread for 7 years. Try not to become too hardened by people that are blinded by false and/or dreamer's hope... Quick note though CMG: Due to the nature of the internet with links changing and such, some of the references you posted are now showing as not available. I will be updating my blog today with a new post just about this, in hopes that we can spread light on this subject without having to seed though so many comments (Minus the occasional link update). For those of you that want a Judicial ruling on a case very similar to this letter: (a) Legislation on Chain Letters Some information from the FTC directly regarding Chain Letters (Notice how it describes many aspects of the letter that so many of us have received since this thread was started back in 2004... 7 years ago) (b) FTC:// The Lowdown on Chain Letters And just some more information about Money Style Chain Letters: (c) Money-chain letters are illegal, but why To break it down for the people that don't want to follow the links (Or if in another 7 years the links change) 1) This is a chain letter, same letter being sent at an exponential rate to more people. 2) As mentioned in (a)'s site: CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. Respondent is engaged in conducting a scheme or device for obtaining money through the mails by means of representations materially false in fact in violation of 39 U.S.C., 3005. 2. Such scheme is also a scheme for the distribution of money by chance thus falling within the definition of lottery as found above. See Zebelman v. U.S. , 339 F.2d 484 (10th Cir. 1964). As such the scheme also violates 39 U.S.C., 3005. 3. In essence the scheme is nothing more or less than the well-known chain letter. The fact that participants are to receive for each $2.00 invested a one-page "money making" report is obviously only an unsuccessful attempt to camouflage the principal characteristic of the scheme as a chain letter, or lottery. 4. An order pursuant to 39 U.S.C., 3005 in the form attached should be issued against respondent. In the end, as many have said here: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If you want a chance at "Quick Money" these days, write a 30-60 page self-help eBook and publish it somewhere online for $1.00 to $5.00 a copy... Even if it is complete rubbish, people will probably buy it somewhere. Myself: I may not be the best writer, but I will stay with writing my blog, writing php inventory systems, and lawn care. --Quixjote
jamesomusic	Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 \| 01:22 PM Back again.....The odds ..henceforth It is more likely that you will be killed in a car wreck on your way to buying a lottery ticket, than it is for you to win. Fact! Think about it. It is more likely that you will be struck by lightning 3 times be for you will win the lottery...Fact!...It is more likely that you will be bitten buy a deadly rattler 3 times before you win the lottery.Fact! I won something once in 67 years. I was listing to the radio a few years back, when the announcer asked anyone to call in and recite the McDonald slogan they were using to advertise their Big Mack, well don't you know I was the fist to call and blurted out... "two all beef patties, special souse, lettuce, cheese, pickle, on a sesame seed bun" They announced that I was the winner if the Grand Prize, come down to McDonalds, and pick up your Prize. It was a tee-shirt, with their slogan printed on the front.The only one they had, size large, I wear an extra large. I tried it on and it maybe was a medium(didn't fit)Gave it to one of my children (12 years old (fit perfect)She never wore it. I asked her why, she said it was silly. There you go. I think we sold it at a yard sale for 25 cents. a few years later, still in the plastic. That's it end of story. Good luck on winning anything,but don't count on it to make the big haul, will not happen! Save your money or give it away to someone who needs it,not the lottery people, or the chain letter people. Got to go now I have a great grand daughter who needs changing and a bottle. And we both need a nap..Jim
Wisconsin	Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 \| 01:19 PM Just received this letter in the mail today and since I had some free time, I decided to do a little research. What I learned: Legal vs. Illegal: This is illegal. The government decides which forms of gambling are legal and illegal, and this one just happens to be illigal. Why did I receive this?: After reading some of the comments on this thread I realized a something... someone indicated the company associated with the Victoria's Secret credit card sells names and addresses of customers... well guess what? I signed up for the credit card about 6 weeks ago... coincidence, maybe but probably not. Can it work?: Absolutely, but the numbers indicated on the solicitation are only accurate if there are enough individuals participating. Some people may get lucky and end up getting a large sum of money while others will only break even and then there will be the category that most people fall into who will receive less than they invest. I am going to pass on this so the people relying on my $1 are going to have to hope someone else on their list sends them money.
Cranky Media Guy	Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2011 \| 02:01 AM Wisconsin said: "Can it work?: Absolutely, but the numbers indicated on the solicitation are only accurate if there are enough individuals participating." Not really. The premise of a chain letter is always something like "We can all come out ahead if we play fair." That is simply NOT mathematically possible. It is NOT possible for all participants to draw more out of a static pool of money than they put in. Period. It IS possible, of course, for an individual or a few individuals to draw more from the pool than they invested in it. Take a wild guess as to who the individual(s) who get(s) to do that might be. If you guessed "the person or persons who set up the scam in the first place," congratulations!
Im SANE	Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 \| 01:01 PM OK - Youre officially all morons! Ill start by saying the letter is garbage - however the math is simple as can be. The big mouth among you fails to multiply each set of recipients by 200. Therefore he/she cant add the correct numbers. it does equal $813,615.00. The variable used in the example I saw was 7.5 % response rate. Looks like most people are pretty tempted to do this so Im gonna just assume that 7.5 % isnt too crazy of a figure. Start with 1% if you think thats better... Either way why the hell would I send $1 to these people? why wouldnt I (if I were going to participate) just send out 200 letters??? Guess its just $6 right? lol. But then why wont the next guy(s) just cut ME out??? All I see is the lead company making $$$.
Cranky Media Guy	Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 \| 05:40 PM Im SANE said: "OK - Youre officially all morons!" ALL of us?
Cranky Media Guy Is A Looser	Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 \| 08:29 PM May I start by saying Cranky Media Guy goes down as the most pathetic human being I have ever come across. Sorry CMG might not even be human...who knows He has been posting comments on this lame subject for close to 6 years...wow Can you imagine how much help he could have given to the poor, the homeless, and the sick if he would give half as much energy caring about humanity as he does about a chain letter. What a waste of precious time. Weelll, what should I do with my life? HHMMM maybe I will comment on a worthless subject for 6 years. Better yet, I'll make sure I devote a lot of energy to this very important subject. I'll get excited and curse at the poor people on here that are open to taking a gamble in life to try getting ahead. I HAVE SEEN THIS LETTER SEVERAL TIMES AND I CANT IMAGINE THAT IT WOULD WORK. I JUST THROW IT IN THE TRASH. LEGAL OR NOT? DON'T CARE. IF IT LOOKED LIKE A GOOD IDEA TO ME I WOULD DO IT.
aqueen	Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 \| 10:08 PM Hey nate. This letter js got to me a couple dayz ago n I like the way you broke the whole think down like that. You mak a very valid point!! Ima try it to....I hv nothin to lose. Envelopes n paper...no big deal..$50 mailing list n stamps..chump change. I hv my own copy machine so no chrg for the copies. I know its a chain letter but its js like rge letter says. This is people helping people, plain n simple!
Cranky Media Guy	Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2011 \| 01:51 AM A Queen said: "Hey nate. This letter js got to me a couple dayz ago n I like the way you broke the whole think down like that." The only problem with the way Nate broke it down is that it's total bullshit. "I know its a chain letter but its js like rge letter says. This is people helping people, plain n simple!" Ah, the old "people helping people" thing again. Scam artists use that phrase because it helps suckers like you to rationalize being part of something that anyone with a room temperature IQ realizes can only work for them if other people lose the money they put in. If I were you, I'd use the fifty bucks you're planning on wasting on this scam to take a Remedial English class at the local community college. That would truly be a case of someone (you) being helped by other people.
Cranky Media Guy	Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2011 \| 01:53 AM By the way, Queen, if you had bothered to read past Page Two of this thread, you would have seen the exact reasons why chain letters cannot and do not work as they are claimed to explained not once, not twice, but several times.
twoINthePINKoneINtheSTINK	Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 \| 01:08 PM FIRST OFF I WOULD LIKE TO STATE THAT ALL THE CRANKY's are correct. CHAIN LETTERS ARE ILLEGAL!!! THe question is no longer "if" they are illegal, it is now "HOW do we make one that is legal" Would adding a disclaimer to the end make it legal? part of the issue with a chain letter is that it falls under the lottery laws as well as the postal laws. CHANCE is a key factor. If the program involves a CHANCE of making money and a CHANCE of not making money, it is a GAMBLE, therefore it is considered a lottery... (an unregistered lottery) Now what if we changed "ad me to your mailing list" to "I would like to join your club" and at the bottom we offer a very detailed disclaimer explaining the ins and outs. ex: Disclaimer: CHAIN LETTERS ARE ILLEGAL. IN ORDER FOR THIS PROGRAM TO BE LEGAL YOU MUST WRITE ON A SLIP OF PAPER
Stinky Feet Pete	Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 \| 03:53 PM No note or disclaimer attached to the chain letter will ever save it, as the laws automatically make such illegal when money is involved. http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2002/02/eileenspam1.shtm A legitimate money chain letter is fundamentally impossible under the laws as they stand.
Cranky Media Guy	Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 \| 06:00 PM Stinky Feet Pete is correct, an illegal act does not magically become legal if two or more people agree to participate in it. I'm not a lawyer but I do know that at least in some circumstances, that kind of agreement can be construed as a conspiracy which bumps the charges up.
M n S	Posted: Sat May 21, 2011 \| 07:06 AM LOL Its illegal because the can not tax you on this. Come on people look deep into this. I know its not cool. I am not one todo illegal things, but the gov and usps made this illegal do to unsure how to tax. I know the usps did not make this law, because if they did they would lose that much more money from people buying stamps.....This is just my two cents
The Plump Dormouse	Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 \| 03:51 AM M n S, you're an idiot. Time magazine had an article in bleeping 1935 about the post office, stamps, and chain letters. The postal service was bleeding out from all the extra costs that the chain letters were inflicting on them. It's also illegal because it is fraud. That's the FTC viewpoint. Now, are you going to actually do some research and discuss things like someone with a brain and a point of view, or are you going to fling buzzword poo like a stereotypical monkey?
xokellieox	Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 \| 05:24 PM Okay just look at the percentage of people on this forum saying they are going to try this. The right there proves something right. It will work if people stop overanalyzing it. The letter also says to put 10% of you income into charitble contribution...So that makes this some what legal correct? If it is a pyramid then how is anyone that is not participating making more that the other? Everyone drops of the list in about 3 weeks, so it will not over whelm the post office in one area for to terribly wrong. Plus if this is illegal, I will take that chance. It woul.d be my first ofense. It is 6$ to send out to six peeps, then paper for 800 copies, because there are for pages, stamps and you can get the printing company to send you sticker lables. I wonder if the printing company would give input as to the volume he receives? I have to wonder if the printing company is involved and maybe this is a marketing letter! Anyway I am trying it too.
Sara	Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 \| 02:19 PM I agree with Nate. You are sending someone else money for the heck of it. Where is the scam. It's a freakin dollar for cryin out loud. It isn't like they are asking you to pays them hundreds of dollars and you get nothing in return. The only part you are investing to other people is $6. (The names on the list). Everything else in on your own. Other people are not going to get rich off your misfortune. The only part I wouldn't do is order the mailing list from the company mentioned on the letter. I too received this letter and after discussing it with my husband we have decided to try it. I found leads for half the price mentioned on the letter. The total investment would be about $150, but again the only amount I would be losing to other people who may have sent out this letter before me would be $6. So is it really a scam. Maybe, but I'm going to try it.
Cranky Media Guy	Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 \| 06:36 PM xokellieox said: "The letter also says to put 10% of you income into charitble contribution...So that makes this some what legal correct?" Using your logic, if I rob a bank but I give some of the money to the Red Cross, my actions are "somewhat legal." BZZZZT. Wrong! Life doesn't work that way, Kellie. "Plus if this is illegal, I will take that chance. It woul.d be my first ofense." I guess if you're going to start a life of crime, you might as well begin with a Federal offense. Seriously, you're almost certain not to face any charges for participating in a chain letter but you're also just about guaranteed not to see any money out of it either. Sara said: "You are sending someone else money for the heck of it. Where is the scam. It's a freakin dollar for cryin out loud." No one accusing YOU of running a scam. What we are--correctly--saying is that people who RUN chain letters are operating a scam. "It isn't like they are asking you to pays them hundreds of dollars and you get nothing in return." No, they are asking hundreds or thousands of people to each send them a small amount of money. I trust you realize that that results in the scammer ending up with a nice sum of money. "Other people are not going to get rich off your misfortune." Well, they're counting on a LOT of people to help them get rich. Yes, your personal loss won't put a dent in your lifestyle, but when a LOT of people make the same mistake you're planning on making, it can really add up. Why do you think chain letter have been around for so long? Kellie and Sara, you both need to go back into this thread and read some of the information about why chain letters don't work and why they're illegal. It's been provided many times over the course of this thread, complete with links to the original sources of the information.
DJ Brakel	Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 \| 02:35 PM There is a legal way to participate. I have done the research and I love the idea of helping others out. I also asked several questions of my CPA and also researched the FTC. Intentions of deception is what makes chain letters illegal. There must be a product or service of inherent value and this product or service must be independent of the actual chain letter and have "use" to the general public. Email me if you want more information.
The Plump Dormouse	Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2011 \| 02:21 AM As if there was a way to email you, with no contact information left, Mr. DJ Brakel. Think, next time, before telling people to do something impossible because you left out critical information needed in order to do it.
DJ Brakel	Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2011 \| 07:35 AM Sorry, By adding a comment, I was under the impression that if I gave my email to be notified when someone commented, that I would receive email directly from that person responding. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
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