The Museum of Hoaxes
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
Page 5 of 30 pages ‹ First  < 3 4 5 6 7 >  Last ›
Greg
Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2007 | 03:09 PM
I'm going to walk to your house and to the houses of five of your neighbors and give you each a dollar because your name was on a list, then put my name on the list drop off the name at the top (he already got his $800,000 ha ha )pass the list to 200 more neighbors. I tell them to give each person on the list a dollar, so if the all do it right I will receive $200. My name is now at the bottom, and moves up one with each set of 200 people as they put their names at the bottom of the list. Each one of them tell 200 more people to do the same, and so on.....Remember you only got one dollar from me, but you got 199 from 199 different people up to 6 times, because you have been in this thing for a while. Of course a lot of the people that received the letter are like you and didn't follow through. They are the ones that make it not work.
Would it still be illegal this way, or is it just illegal because it is going through the US mail? Giving a dollar to someone isn't illegal!!!!!!
Anyway is legality really the issue here.
Or are you afraid to try it because it just might work?

And yes I am a Christian. And that doesn't make it legal or illeagal. That just makes me better off than you.
greg
Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2007 | 03:13 PM
I didn't say better.....just better off!!!!
Cranky Media Guy
Member
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2007 | 02:43 AM
Hey, Greg, here's an experiment for you.

Take some pennies or marbles or Cheerios or whatever you want. Put them on the table and divide them up into equal piles, say ten piles of ten each (the exact number of piles or counters in each pile doesn't matter, just so long as each pile has the same number in it).

Now divide them up any way you want. See if you can work it out so that everyone ends up with more than they started out with.

Then write down your method and submit it to the Nobel Prize Committee. You're a shoo-in to win for Mathematics as you will essentially have proven that 2 plus 2 can equal 5.

If it can be done door-to-door as you seem to believe, it can be done on your tabletop.

Let me guess. You're going to say that this isn't a fair experiment since it only goes around once. OK, go as many rounds as you like. 5, 10, 100, 1000 times, it doesn't matter. Let us know when every "participant" (pile) has more pennies or whatever than it started out with.

If, as WILL turn out to be the case, you can't make that happen, then you MUST concede that we've been right about the obvious impossibility of the claims made by chain letter operators all along.
Cranky Media Guy
Member
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2007 | 02:51 AM
Greg said:

"And yes I am a Christian. And that doesn't make it legal or illeagal. That just makes me better off than you."

I fail to see what relevance your religious faith has to a decades-old scam which preys on the mathematically-challenged.
Greg
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2007 | 08:17 AM
I get it now.....This is your job...Right?
You are a chain letter fighting forum guy.

I am really starting to realize that you aren't the sharpest knife in the drawer.
First of all I didn't say my faith had anything to do with this.
Charybdis Did !!!
"So you don't believe chain letters are illegal because you're a Fundamentalist Christian? Is that what you're telling us?"
Remember that line Cranky? (Thur Sept 20 10:46AM)
Secondly you are using the same piles of Cheerios over and over...That's like me giving you a dollar, you giving it back, and me giving it to you again, and you giving it back again, and over and over. Don't you see that new Cheerios have to come into the system with every cycle. That is the outside money.
Wow...you really don't get it do you. You've been fighting for something that you don't understand.
(Again like the Democrats....they don't understand why we are fighting.)
The only thing I agree with is the fact that not everyone will profit equally. Some skeptics will drop out.
By the way...how long did it take you to come up with that cheerio thing. And would it work differently with Honey Nut Cheerios?
Cranky Media Guy
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2007 | 03:58 PM
Greg, I'd be a little careful about accusing OTHER people of being not the sharpest knife in the drawer when you, despite all logic and evidence, still think that chain letters can magically make every participant come out ahead.

I've made the point several times in this thread that a chain CANNOT go on infinitely. Go check, you'll see that I've said that repeatedly.

That means that there is a finite number of participants, even if the number is large.

I'll type this slowly in the hopes that it will help your comprehension. THE MATH WHICH MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS IN A CHAIN LETTER COME OUT AHEAD APPLIES FOR *ANY* NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS SHORT OF INFINITY.

I've also said multiple times that, yes, it IS possible for the person who STARTS a chain letter to come out ahead. That's the precise reason they start it. All they are doing, however, is taking money from OTHER partipants who LOSE THEIR MONEY. It is NOT possible, no matter how many "rounds" the chain goes, for everyone to come out ahead.

As for your faith, Chary's question was in response to YOU having mentioned your beliefs. You brought it up, Dude.

I won't get into your gratuitous political comments except to say that they fit into the general pattern of Magical Thinking that you exhibit.
Greg
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2007 | 04:20 PM
I didn't bring up my Faith...just my beliefs. Chary said something about me being a Fundamentalist Christian. You don't have to be a Christian to know that we didn't evolve. You only have to have common sense. Maybe a few of you did evolve.
Just kidding guys.
Again you keep saying that everyone can't come out ahead. I KNOW THAT. But everyone can't win a hand of poker either.
Also, with the chains, there is more than one beginning as I said before. The letter may get exhausted for a while, then the next 50 or 60 people may get it going again.
I would like to try it just to see if any return at all is possible.
Cranky Media Guy
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2007 | 06:34 PM
Greg said:

"Again you keep saying that everyone can't come out ahead. I KNOW THAT. But everyone can't win a hand of poker either."

No poker game that I have ever seen purports that every player will be a winner. Every poker player knows that the winnings come from the pot which the losers contribute to. Chain letters DO promise that everyone will come out ahead. That is WHY they are illegal. How many times does this have to be explained?

"Also, with the chains, there is more than one beginning as I said before. The letter may get exhausted for a while, then the next 50 or 60 people may get it going again."

That simply makes no difference. At no point, assuming a finite number of participants, can EVERYONE come out ahead no matter how many times the chain is started or restarted. That would require money to magically multiply. Since money CANNOT magically multiply, if ANYONE comes out ahead, that person's profit has merely come from someone behind him in the chain who LOSES THEIR MONEY. No matter how you rationalize the situation, there is NO other possibility.

"I would like to try it just to see if any return at all is possible."

I'll say it again, since you seem resistant to this notion: Yes, the person who STARTS the chain CAN make money, as he is taking it from people after him in the chain who lose theirs. It's called "robbing Peter to pay Paul" and there's nothing magical or ground-breaking about it. After all, if everyone could come out ahead, wouldn't you expect to see businesses, perhaps even whole economies, based on the same principle as a chain letter?

As a self-professed Christian, don't you have some qualms about taking money from people via an illegal scam? Why would you even consider being part of an illegal activity?

I'll reserve comment about your disbelief in evolution as it isn't directly relevant to this discussion.
G.S.
Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 | 01:53 AM
Hey guys, I'm getting into this thread way, way late here, but I was just thinking....

If you were to get 800,000 letters, each containing a dollar, it would take you a little over 9 days and 6 hours to open them all. Of course, that's if you were able to open one letter every second twenty four hours a day.

So, let's try to be a little more conservative. If you opened letters for 8 hours a day and could plow through 20 per minute (one every three seconds), it would still take you 83 days and 8 hours to finish.

Now, just imagine how angry the people at the bank would be when you wanted to change that truck full of one dollar bills into hundreds...

That's the kind of stuff we gloss over when we read these things and start daydreaming about the money we're going to get.

Ouch. Sometimes it hurts to be a human.

I'm sorry for wasting space if someone already brought this up.
Cranky Media Guy
Member
Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 | 02:52 AM
Nope, G.S. no one has brought that up previously.

Fortunately (I guess), no one will have to deal with that trevail, since chain letters DON'T WORK.

(To be clear, as I've explained many times previously, they can "work" for the first few people in, but they don't produce profit for later people, as it is THEIR money which is going to the first few.)

By the way, welcome to the thread, G.S.
Greg
Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 | 06:39 AM
Yea man...and Im sure all 800,000 will come on the same day. Better get a bigger mail box.

Dude..like I said before, Use That Thing On Your Shoulders.

It would take months or maybe even years to receive the cash.......

And you are shining bright again..
Think about it..Anyone would be glad to spend 9 days opening letters to get 800,000 dollars. And trust me, any bank would be glad to have someone come in with an 800,000 deposit. Oh no I forgot GS is going to change it to hundred dollar bills and put it in his wallet.
We have another scholar in the forum!!!!!
Be careful guys, you aren't sounding very smart.
Cranky Media Guy
Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 | 04:39 PM
Fortunately, Greg, you aren't going to have the "problem" of opening 800,000 envelopes filled with dollar bills from chain letter participants.

I'll ask again. If chain letters work as advertised, where are the chain letter millionaires? Where is the legitimate business which operates according to the principles of a chain letter? Where is the NATION which runs its economy on the same principle?

Also, you haven't answered my question about why a Christian would get involved in an illegal scam which takes money from people under false pretenses.
Greg
Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 | 09:02 PM
First of all spanky, I'm not involved. I just enjoy hearing the brilliant replies in this forum.

Secondly why do people love to bring to light what the Christians are doing wrong. Christians are just people that know how it all ends. The non-Christians know they are lost so they love to pick out the bad in Christians to make themselves look good. I would rather be a Christian that knows he does wrong, than a non Christian that thinks he does everything right and good.


And thirdly....Chain letters aren't illegal.
Cranky Media Guy
Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2007 | 02:34 AM
Greg said:

"First of all spanky, I'm not involved."

Uh, I didn't say you WERE involved. I asked you why a Christian would consider BECOMING involved in a scam like a chain letter.

Remember when you said:

"I would like to try it just to see if any return at all is possible."

You really should go back and check what you've said previously before you contradict yourself.

"I would rather be a Christian that knows he does wrong, than a non Christian that thinks he does everything right and good."

So, you'd rather get involved in a chain letter KNOWING that it's a scam because somehow being a Christian makes that OK? I'm seriously confused here.

"And thirdly....Chain letters aren't illegal."

Greg, have you bothered to read ANY of this thread? If you go back a few pages, you'll see a quote from the exact part of the U.S. Postal Service's website wherein it is explained that chain letters involving the exchange of money or other valuables ARE illegal. It's a cut and paste directly from the Post Office's website and they say it in clear, unambiguous language so there's no interpretation required.

I'll say to you what I've said to other people who have come and gone on this thread: if, despite the CLEAR evidence that chain letters ARE ILLEGAL in the U.S., you still believe that they are legal, why don't you contact a local attorney or the U.S. Postal Service directly to ask? The Postal Service is headquartered on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. The address and phone number should be available at usps.gov.

You clearly consider yourself a moral person. If there was even a chance that something you were considering becoming involved in took money from your fellow man under false premises, wouldn't you want to make sure that wasn't the case before you started?

It's SO easy to find out definitively whether or not chain letters are legal in America that I can't imagine why you wouldn't do that.

Unless you actually didn't care, of course.
Toni
Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2007 | 06:20 PM
Cranky and Charybdis,

Maybe one of these days you will actually go to law school, pass the bar, do your time as lawyers, and take your place in on the bench. Until then stop trying to sell everyone your warped version of the United States Postal Service Code. Let me send you a few bucks. If you needed the $6-$10 to get started why didn't you say so! Heck, I'll even include a Weekly Reader and maybe a few Little Golden Books so that your Mommies can teach you how to read.

Goodnight Little Ones. Sweet Dreams.
Cranky Media Guy
Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2007 | 08:38 PM
Toni said:

"Maybe one of these days you will actually go to law school, pass the bar, do your time as lawyers, and take your place in on the bench. Until then stop trying to sell everyone your warped version of the United States Postal Service Code."

Hmm, I've already posted this on this thread (taken directly from the USPS website) but apparantly SOME people can't be bothered to read:

From http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/chainlet.htm

"A chain letter is a "get rich quick" scheme that promises that your mail box will soon be stuffed full of cash if you decide to participate. You're told you can make thousands of dollars every month if you follow the detailed instructions in the letter.

"A typical chain letter includes names and addresses of several individuals whom you may or may not know. You are instructed to send a certain amount of money--usually $5--to the person at the top of the list, and then eliminate that name and add yours to the bottom. You are then instructed to mail copies of the letter to a few more individuals who will hopefully repeat the entire process. The letter promises that if they follow the same procedure, your name will gradually move to the top of the list and you'll receive money -- lots of it.

"There's at least one problem with chain letters. They're illegal if they request money or other items of value and promise a substantial return to the participants. Chain letters are a form of gambling, and sending them through the mail (or delivering them in person or by computer, but mailing money to participate) violates Title 18, United States Code, Section 1302, the Postal Lottery Statute. (Chain letters that ask for items of minor value, like picture postcards or recipes, may be mailed, since such items are not things of value within the meaning of the law.)

"Chain letters don't work because the promise that all participants in a chain letter will be winners is mathematically impossible. Also, many people participate, but do not send money to the person at the top of the list. Some others create a chain letter that lists their name numerous times--in various forms with different addressee. So, in reality, all the money in a chain is going to one person.

"Do not be fooled if the chain letter is used to sell inexpensive reports on credit, mail order sales, mailing lists, or other topics. The primary purpose is to take your money, not to sell information. "Selling" a product does not ensure legality. Be doubly suspicious if there's a claim that the U.S. Postal Service or U.S. Postal Inspection Service has declared the letter legal. This is said only to mislead you. Neither the Postal Service nor Postal Inspectors give prior approval to any chain letter."


Toni furthered blathered:

"I'll even include a Weekly Reader and maybe a few Little Golden Books so that your Mommies can teach you how to read."

Yeah, I'M the one who can't read here.

Bottom line, Toni, is that you WANT to believe that 2+2=5, probably because you intend to scam people out of their money. You could have found the above quoted material just as easily as *I* did. You didn't WANT to because it doesn't confirm the lie you want to believe.

As for you failed attempt at sarcasm, take your Golden Books, fold them eight ways and put them
where the sun don't shine.
Greg
Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2007 | 10:38 PM
All right......Toni.

Spanky and his friend Charleybdis are really annoying the crap out of me.

I've never seen anyone work so hard at proving nothing in my life.

I think most of the things that they write in this forum are things that they dig off the internet the night before.

They can't prove it doesn't work any more than I can prove that it does work.

BUT I LOVE THE RESPONSES.....

Keep up the good work Franky and Scarybdis....we love ya.
Cranky Media Guy
Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 | 02:17 AM
I'm sincerely baffled at what you think Toni "proved," Greg.

I showed you EXACTLY where the U.S. Postal Service says that chain letters are ILLEGAL and do NOT work and you act as if that proves YOUR point. Wow, that's WORLD CLASS Cognitive Dissonance!

Chary and I are pissing you off because you can't counter what we've been saying with FACTS or LOGIC.

Toni claims that chain letters are legal, despite the Postal Service specifically stating that they AREN'T. YOU insist on saying that chain letters CAN work (as in making all participants come out ahead) despite simple math that a fourth-grader could see proves otherwise. Hey, maybe you two should get married. You could have your honeymoon on Fantasy Island.

If you go back several postings, you'll see where I illustrated how these "discussions" almost inevitably lead. I see you've taken us to the "name calling followed by stomping off" stage. Congratulations! You are now a completely predictable cliche.

Don't you have some Magically Multiplying Money to count? Get to it.
Tim
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 | 05:52 PM
Cranky Media Guy,

You've been asking for an example of a legitimate business founded upon chain letters. We started up two years ago and are now expanding our operations into a second huge building. One building is for stuffing envelopes and the other building is for opening money envelopes. Our huge staff is highly motivated by the knowledge that we are providing a great service to the community. What that is, I'm not really sure, but we sure do rake in the dough.

We are now expanding operations even further and looking for investors. We have a property in Brooklyn, NY that is up for sale. This bridge is up and running.

BTW, thanks for setting my temporary insanity straight.
Cranky Media Guy
Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 | 02:11 AM
Tim, congratulations on your thriving enterprise. I should warn you however that the bridge you may use to get to and from work is owned by me and I'm currently considering instituting a toll.

I bought it a while back from a guy who posted to an online discussion forum that, despite all evidence to the contrary, HE owned the Brooklyn Bridge and was willing to transfer ownership to me.

Well, as you would guess, I jumped at THAT opportunity. I don't anticipate putting up the toll booths until after the first of the year, so until then, enjoy the free (for now) passage over the East River.
nicole wynell
Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 | 09:01 AM
I received the same letter in the mail. I thought about it for a while and decided to go ahead and do it... It's only been a few weeks and I'm starting to receivec more and more dollars daily...I'm hoping for the best. It feel good to actually see people responding to the letter. It's not a chain letter. I am actually compiling a mailing list of each response and then I will capitolize on it by resaling the names to existing mailing companies! Do it if you need the money Trust God and He'll give the increase. It's not a gamble, it's an investment. I own a store in my town and I have to buy and resell items. Everything you do even when I decided to open my b'ness is a chance you're taking but it's the price anyone has to pay to be successful. Thanks
Charybdis
in Hell
 Member
Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 | 09:55 AM
Wow, that didn't sound like spam at all, Nicole.
Greg
Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 | 12:05 PM
I haven't spoke (typed) with you wonderful people in a while.
NIcole.....thats what I like to hear, positive input.

Stanky and Skylla just keep banging out the negativity.
I can't wait for the day that I can say..."Hey guys, I just opened an envelope with my 800,000th one dollar bill in it and man are my hands tired."

I feel it will be here soon.
greg
Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 | 12:05 PM
"spoken"
Cranky Media Guy
Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 | 03:34 PM
Nicole Wydell said:

"It's not a chain letter. I am actually compiling a mailing list of each response and then I will capitolize on it by resaling the names to existing mailing companies!"

Nicole, if you had bothered to read this thread, you would have seen where the Postal Service directly addresses this fake "loophole" you think you've found.

Unfortunately for you, that whole "I'm paying to be on a mailing list so it isn't a chain letter" thing doesn't make it legal.

Nor does dragging God into it change it to a legal operation.

Greg said:

"Stanky and Skylla just keep banging out the negativity."

Yes, we do, assuming that by "negativity," you mean "actual FACTS." I realize those are like Kryptonite to you, Greg.

"I can't wait for the day that I can say...'Hey guys, I just opened an envelope with my 800,000th one dollar bill in it and man are my hands tired.'

"I feel it will be here soon."

Personally, I am waiting for the day we discover that pigs CAN fly. All it takes is BELIEF, right? You aren't some kind of Negative Nelly, are you?

By the way, you DO realize that if and when someone CLAIMS they've made their fortune by opening envelopes, it doesn't PROVE that they aren't lying, right?
Cranky Media Guy
Member
Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 | 08:07 PM
Oops, I mistyped Nicole's last name. It's WyNell, not WyDell. Sorry.

By the way, how smart is it to use your (presumably) real name when confessing in print to a federal crime? Any wonder why the Postal Service's Investigative Service has such a high rate of conviction?

Oh, I forgot, chain letters aren't illegal if you BELIEVE they aren't.
Charybdis
in Hell
 Member
Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 | 09:30 AM
Chain letters have been around for over 100 years, Greg. If it's such a simple, sure-fire way to make money why hasn't anyone done it before?

Oh right, you don't answer questions like that. You insult us in place of providing a real counter-argument. :lol:
Greg
Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 | 11:30 AM
Back to that again.....Nobody said it was a sure fire way to make money, and I am also in agreement when you say that not everyone gains.
I said it over and over again....It's a game that can be won or lost. It's a gamble....there is chance involved.
Why is this so difficult for you to understand?
greg
Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 | 11:32 AM
And furthermore.....people have done it before.
DUH
Cranky Media Guy
Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 | 03:13 PM
Greg said:

"I said it over and over again....It's a game that can be won or lost. It's a gamble....there is chance involved.
Why is this so difficult for you to understand?"

Why are you seemingly incapable of understanding that the U.S. Postal Service ("Post Office") says in clear, easy-to-read English that chain letters are ILLEGAL and DON'T WORK? Oh, I keep forgetting, this is one of those "it isn't true if you don't BELIEVE it's true" things, isn't it?

Greg, have you EVER seen a chain letter that says that the math doesn't work, or that even if everyone is "honest" and "doesn't break the chain," MOST people will STILL lose their money? I've seen several and none of them said anything resembling that (for obvious reasons).

"And furthermore.....people have done it before."

Legally? Without lying to other people about how they would lose THEIR money?

Who? Name names, please.
mommaintexas
Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 | 05:56 PM
Hey - Cranky Media Guy -

Get off your high horse and stop being so friggin' cranky! Haven't you ever done ANYTHING illegal just for the hell of it?

Have a little fun now and then.
bilal
Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 | 11:06 PM
heyyyy.i also got such a letter......i dont know wht to do....but i m not trying my luck and i m not going for it..........because i asked myself a question tht if one could make 800000$ by spending only 200$ then why not everybody in the world is doing it???????why are these business men working day and night .........if it would have been true then it would have been so popular tht u couldnt find ppl to send letters to bcz everyone would have one of his own

this is hoax tht ull know if u use ur skull
greg
Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 | 11:17 PM
Hey Blanky....Do you know what I see in all your entries.
They are all exactly the same with the same pattern.
When someone argues the point that they think it's legal, then you bring up your reasons why it won't work.
If someone gives a reason why it may work, then you bring up legalities.
Won't Work...Illegal...Won't Work....Illegal.....wont work....illegal.
Like a metronome.....
Cranky Media Guy
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 | 02:12 AM
Greg said:

"When someone argues the point that they think it's legal, then you bring up your reasons why it won't work.
If someone gives a reason why it may work, then you bring up legalities.
Won't Work...Illegal...Won't Work....Illegal.....wont work....illegal.
Like a metronome....."

Here's the thing, Greg. How about if you faith-based chain letter apologists stop pretending that those two points aren't accurate? Then I'll stop repeating them.

See, I keep repeating them because you keep denying them. Apparantly it takes a LOT of repetition to break through the Shell of Reality Denial you guys live in.

Ultimately, you aren't arguing with ME anyway. You're arguing with the FBI and the Postal Service. Good luck with THAT.
Cranky Media Guy
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 | 02:18 AM
Bilal said:

"...if one could make 800000$ by spending only 200$ then why not everybody in the world is doing it???????why are these business men working day and night .........if it would have been true then it would have been so popular tht u couldnt find ppl to send letters to bcz everyone would have one of his own"

I won't pick on your grammar, Bilal, because I get the feeling English isn't your first language.

Yes, you've put your finger on it, Bilal. If chain letters worked, everyone would be involved in one because it would certainly be easier and more lucrative than working for a living.

Remember the old saying: If something seems too good to be true, it almost certainly is.
Cranky Media Guy
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 | 02:38 AM
mommaintexas said:

"Hey - Cranky Media Guy -

Get off your high horse and stop being so friggin' cranky! Haven't you ever done ANYTHING illegal just for the hell of it?

Have a little fun now and then."

Lemme see if I understand you. You're advocating breaking FEDERAL law as ENTERTAINMENT?

By all means, "Mom," use that as your defense if and when you get caught. I'm SURE it will work (just ask Greg about how things work if you just BELIEVE that they do).

By the way, since you have "Mom" in your screen name, may I assume you have children? Is advocating breaking the law part of your parenting technique? If so, I the Child Protective Service may play a part in your future. Please let us all know if a crew from COPS accompanies them. I need a good laugh.

[to myself] Wow, these people get dumber and dumber all the time!
Cranky Media Guy
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 | 02:43 AM
Hey, Greg. I'm still waiing for the name of anyone who has made money from a chain letter legally. Remember how you said other people have done it in the past? If you know that, you MUST know their names, right? Otherwise, how could you say with such assurance that they exist?

So, who are these legal chain letter tycoons? This isn't another one of those "It's true if I BELIEVE it" things, is it?
Greg
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 | 09:15 AM
Hey Slanky,

You have to be the most uptight dudes I've ever talked with. I would bet you are one of those never married with no kids type of guys.
greg
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 | 09:21 AM
dude....not dudes
greg
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 | 09:45 AM
Have you heard the latest from CNN?
They have a home surrounded in Boone, Iowa. The man inside....a father of 4. Outside there are 17 units from 9 different counties with heavy artillary and they are trying to talk the man out peacefully.
The man is armed with three pens and 199 envelopes. The law holds the 200th envelope which was intercepted at the US post office.
What does the judicial system have in store for this poor 47 year old man who was just looking for a way to make an extra 800,000 dollars.
Do they have the death penalty in Iowa??

String him up...it'll teach him a lesson!!
Burn the envelopes confiscate the six dollars. Put it in a safe place to use as evidence against him. Take his children and put them in a good home unlike the home they are in now. How could they ever call him DAD again????
nicole wynell
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 | 10:33 AM
Listen, it's up to you whether or not you want to try. I'll say, It's a risk, but I still don't believe it's a chain letter. It's only a chain if someone threatens you or say that you have to forward the letter to lift off a 'curse' nobody's twisting your arm to do it... And I'm not some dummy... I checked every name on each list that was sent to me in the mail and verified each individual address to make sure it existed...I then use the physical address to get a phone number and then I called. The person who answered my call (which at that time she was #2 on the list) said that she was receiving dollar bills regularly and had been receiving them for some time. I'll admit, I was so glad to hear that she was that I failed to ask her How much she'd received.I didn't ever call her back-didn't want her to think I was crazy or stalking her.
greg
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 | 10:57 AM
Nicole..I'm with you all the way.
Charybdis
in Hell
 Member
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 | 11:40 AM
Where do you get your definition of a chain letter, Nicole?

Why does it differ from the legal definition?

You people sure seem to go to a lot of trouble to deny reality.
greg
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 | 11:51 AM
Merriam-Webster

Main Entry: chain letter
Function: noun
: a letter sent to several persons with a request that each send copies of the letter to an equal number of persons


Cranky-Chary

Main Entry: chain letter
Function: none
: an illegal letter that drains everyone of their life savings except the first few people on the list, who gain from everyone else.
Charybdis
in Hell
 Member
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 | 01:27 PM
United States Postal Service

<i>A chain letter is a "get rich quick" scheme that promises that your mail box will soon be stuffed full of cash if you decide to participate. You're told you can make thousands of dollars every month if you follow the detailed instructions in the letter.

...........

There's at least one problem with chain letters. <b>They're illegal if they request money or other items of value and promise a substantial return to the participants.</b> Chain letters are a form of gambling, and sending them through the mail (or delivering them in person or by computer, but mailing money to participate) violates Title 18, United States Code, Section 1302, the Postal Lottery Statute. (Chain letters that ask for items of minor value, like picture postcards or recipes, may be mailed, since such items are not things of value within the meaning of the law.)</i>

Bolding is mine.

http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/chainlet.htm

Sorry, any arguments you have against this interpretation need to be taken up with the United States government. I'm not the one who makes the laws, I'm just the one pointing them out.
Charybdis
in Hell
 Member
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 | 01:28 PM
Though I will point out that I actually agree with your second definition. Sadly you seem to think of it as a joke.
Greg
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 | 02:53 PM
Hey Lanky and Chumly....Do you guys ever smile?
Cranky Media Guy
Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 | 02:32 AM
Greg said:

"Hey Lanky and Chumly....Do you guys ever smile?"

So, does this irrelevant question (an attempt to change the subject) mean that you have given up defending the indefensible?
greg
Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 | 10:48 AM
Change the Subject?????
This entire forum is about one thing. How is asking you if you ever smile trying to change the subject? I just stumped you with that question.

Can you answer the question...Do you ever smile?

Anyway...
Carry On My Wayward Son
Cranky Media Guy
Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 | 02:38 PM
Greg, this is getting very silly.

The topic, as you well know, is chain letters. Do you have anything new to contribute to that discussion?
Greg
Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 | 09:58 PM
Cranky

Your too serious dude. I feel sorry for you.
Cranky Media Guy
Member
Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 | 01:30 AM
Greg, your opinion of me is every bit as invalid as your opinion of the legality of chain letters.

Now, do you have anything new to contribute about the subject of this thread?
nicole wynell
Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 | 12:56 PM
Hi. I'm back again... and yes I recived another dollar! FEELS GOOD! I don't care what anyone says. I am compipling a mail list and I don't think there's anything wrong with participating especially when I see the fruit of my labor pouring in
Cranky Media Guy
Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 | 03:09 PM
Nicole Wynell said:

"I don't care what anyone says. I am compipling a mail list and I don't think there's anything wrong with participating especially when I see the fruit of my labor pouring in"

Right, Nicole. Who cares if the U.S. Postal Service says it's a crime? What matters is that YOU don't BELIEVE it is. That's how life works.

And what could be smarter than using your (presumably) real name when discussing a criminal act on a public forum?

Mensa called, Nicole. They're anxiously waiting for your application.
Cranky Media Guy
Member
Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 | 03:08 AM
By the way, Nicole, congratulations on getting a whole DOLLAR in the mail! Wow, that pays for, what, nearly THREE stamps? Oh, it's just a matter of time before you come close to breaking even.

Breaking the law AND losing money at the same time. Way to stick it to the Man, Nicole!
Greg
Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 | 10:37 AM
Crinkley,
I think your brain is getting smaller.
Do you think she receives all of the dollars in one envelope. One at a time dude.
There are huge companies out there that don't make a penny until after the third year.


OK let hear the response about how the companies are legal and the letters aren't.

I know how you go about trying to win arguments.
You make everyone bang their heads against the wall because of your "talking in circles"
You only have two things to say all the time.
You can't gain from a chain letter and they are illegal.

You hope that the head banging will cause people to give up.

Sorry...WE AREN'T QUITTERS.
And they aren't chain letters...............
GO RED SOX
Cranky Media Guy
Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 | 03:15 PM
Greg said:

"OK let hear the response about how the companies are legal and the letters aren't."

Hey, you're finally getting it! I keep saying it, Greg, because it's TRUE. I realize that in GregWorld, things aren't TRUE if you don't BELIEVE they are, but on THIS planet that isn't how things work.

"You only have two things to say all the time.
You can't gain from a chain letter and they are illegal."

What else needs to be said, Greg? Only a VERY stupid person would continue to pursue something that is ILLEGAL and DOESN'T work. Know anyone like that?

"Sorry...WE AREN'T QUITTERS."

No, after being shown repeatedly that chain letters are ILLEGAL, you are a CRIMINAL if you get involved in one.

"And they aren't chain letters..............."

Oh, this is that "It isn't true if I don't believe it" thing again, huh? You have been SHOWN the part of the U.S. Postal Service ("post office")'s website where they describe the exact activity you are involved in (or want to be involved in) as ILLEGAL. What FACTS do you have which show that your activity ISN'T illegal? Remember, your opinion does NOT count as FACT.
Cranky Media Guy
Member
Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 | 07:48 PM
Here's my prediction for what will come next.

Greg will claim yet again that chain letters are not illegal.

Either Chary or I will show him (once more) that the Post Office says that they ARE.

Greg will then claim that HIS chain letter ISN'T illegal because people are paying to be put on a mailing list or something similar.

Chary or I will show him where the Postal Service specifically says, in clear, unambiguous English, that it's the INTENT of the operator that makes a chain letter illegal and that claiming the participants are paying to be put on a mailing list does NOT make it legal.

Greg will then complain that we keep saying that chain letters don't work and are illegal (as if he is arguing with us and NOT the Postal Service and FBI).

Facts? Who needs 'em when you've got an opinion?
Cranky Media Guy
Member
Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 | 07:51 PM
Oh, I forgot the part where Greg and/or Nicole Wynell will say that it's unlikely that they will be arrested for participating in or running a chain letter, as if that changes things.

Why don't you just mug old ladies on the first of the month when they're walking home after cashing their Social Security checks?

A lot of them have bad eyesight and therefore can't identify you to the police. The odds of getting away with it are pretty good. That means it isn't illegal, right?
greg
Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 | 09:14 PM
Do I detect a little hostility Spanky???
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