What are chain letters?
Chain letters are a type of pyramid scheme that is spread through the post, or sometimes by email. They promise a large financial return for a relatively small cost.Typically, the letter will ask you to send a small amount of money to everyone listed in the letter. You then put your name on the list and send out copies of the letter to as many people as you can. The letter claims that by doing this, you will receive a large amount of money in a short space of time.
These schemes are illegal and are a type of pyramid scheme. The only people who have any real chance to make money are the people who start the scam. Scammers often send out many thousands of letters to people using mailing lists that they have bought off another company.
In a chain letter scam you lose your money in two ways. First—you send money to the scammers who sent you the letter. Second— you waste a lot of money on postage and photocopying costs.
Warning signs
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You receive a letter or email promising you money or good luck if you copy it and send it on to a number of other people.
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The letter or email may suggest that if you don’t forward it on you will have bad luck or lose out on a fantastic opportunity.
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Often a token amount, say five cents, is included in the letter ‘as a
demonstration of good faith’. The letter may also recommend that you do
this when you send out your letters.
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The letter contains claims like ‘this is not a scam’ or ‘this is not a pyramid scheme’.
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The letter contains testimonials from people who claim to have ‘made a fortune’ by taking part.
If you have received a chain letter your best response is to throw it out. You will only be wasting your time and money by forwarding it on to other people. If you do forward it on to your friends and relatives, they will probably be angry when they quickly realise it is a scam.
And here is the typical chain letter / chain email:
LOOK AT THIS!
THIS MAY BE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT LETTER YOU RECEIVE THIS YEAR!!
Please follow the instructions of this letter very carefully, immediately print and READ TWICE.
Greetings,
Hopefully my name is still on the list. When I first read the letter, I thought it was some off-the-wall idea to make money. A week later, I met again with my client to discuss the issue. I told him that the letter originally brought to me was not 100% legal. I advised him to make a small change in the letter and it will be alright. I was curious about the letter, so he told me how it works. I thought it was a long shot, so I decided against participating. before my client left, I asked him to keep me updated as to his results. About two months later, he called to tell me that he had received over $800,000.00 in cash!!
I didn't believe him so he asked me to try the plan and see for myself. I thought about it for a few days and decided that there was not much to lose. I followed the instructions exactly and mailed out 200 letters. Sure enough the money started coming in!!
It came slowly at first, but after three weeks, I was getting more than I could open in a day. After about three months the money stopped coming. I kept a precise record of my earnings and at the end they totaled $868.439.00!
I was earning a good living as a lawyer, but as anyone in the legal profession will tell you, there is a lot of stress that comes with the job. I told myself if things worked out I would retire from practice and play golf. I decided to try the letter again, but this time I sent out 500 letters. Well, three months after that, I had totaled $2,344.178.00!! I just couldn't believe it. I met my old client for lunch to find out how this exactly works. He told me that there were a few similar letters going around. What made this one different is the fact that there are seven names on the letter, not five like most others.
This fact, alone, resulted in more returns. The other factor was the advice I gave him in making sure the whole thing was perfectly legal, since no one wants to risk doing anything illegal.
I bet now you are curious about what changes I told him to make. Well, if you send a letter like this out, to be legal, you must sell something if you expect to receive a dollar. I told him that any-one sending a dollar out must receive something in return. So when you send a dollar to each of the seven names on the list, you must include a piece of paper saying "please put me on your mailing list" and include your name, mailing address.
Follow the simple instructions below exactly, and in less than three months, you will receive over $800,000.00.
B) Mail a $5 bill (wrapped in a piece of blank paper) to each of the seven names below. Include a note (typed or handwritten) saying "please add me to your mailing list" and include your name and mailing address.
1. N. KNIGHT 660 CLIPPER ST. #213 SAN FRANCISCO,
CA 94114-3550
2. D.T.A. RT 2 BOX 150 MEEKER, OK 74855
3. luyonahmedliau@gmail.com (paypal)
4. L.C.Z. 6129 ST. ANDREWS WAY, LIVERMORE, CA 94550
5. W. WERNER 1934 BOND ST. RAHWAY, NJ 07065
B) Remove the name next to #1 at the top of the list and move the rest of the names up one position. Then place your name in the #7 spot. This is done by saving this to a file and enter it in your information on line #7. Be very careful when you type the addresses and proof read them.
C) When you have completed the above instructions, you have options of mailing your new letter in two ways:
1) Through US Postal Service or 2) through e-mail. This letter has been proven perfectly legal for both ways as long as you follow the above instructions, because you're purchasing membership in our exclusive mailing list. To mail this out over the internet, you could browse through areas and find people to send this to all the time. All you have to do is cut and paste e-mail addressees wherever you are on the internet. Remember, it doesn't cost anything to e-mail on the internet. Or you can use Mass E-Mail Network to mail out in large volumes for you. We highly recommend this one. They always e-mail more than the amount you purchase and their addresses are fresh. E-Mail this letter to them with your name and address in position #7 above.
Contact this Bulk E-Mail Company NOW. They have the lowest rates on the net! They're fast, provide effective results and give excellent service. They are running a special for $89.00 per 100,000 mailings and if you order now they are giving away an extra 50,000 mailings free. The number is 207-896-7915.
Send this letter to thousands, even millions. This will bring you big payoffs.
*** Keep in mind there is no limit to the amount of names you could send out. The more names you send, the more money you will make.
We strongly encourage you to mail this letter to family and friends as well.
THIS IS A SERVICE AND IS 100% LEGAL!!!
(refer to title 18, section 1302 & 1342 of the U.S. Postal and Lottery Laws)
Assume for example, that you get 7.5% return rate, which is very conservative. My first attempt was about 9.5% and my second time was over 11%.
1) When you mail out 200 letters, 15 people will send you $1.00
2) Those 15 people mail out 200 letters and 225 people send you $1.00
3) Those 225 mail out 200 letters and 3,375 people send you $1.00
4) Those 3,375 people mail out 200 letters and 50,625 people send you $1.00
5) Those 50,625 people mail out 200 letters and 759,375 people send you $1.00
6) Those 759,375 people mail out 200 letters and 11,390,625 people send you $1.00
At this point, your name drops off the list. Think about it. With only the first six levels, you have received over $813,615.00!! Smile all the way to the bank.
