TheFLY

" FROM THE UNITED STATES POSTMASTER GENERAL:

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Chain Letters

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 elim-
inate 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, are may be mailed, since such
items are not things of value within the meaning of the law.)

Recently, high-tech chain letters have begun surfacing. They may be dis-
seminated over the Internet, or may require the copying and mailing of
computer disks rather than paper. Regardless of what technology is used
to advance the scheme, if the mail is used at any step along the way, it
is still illegal.

The main thing to remember is that a chain letter is simply a bad invest-
ment. You certainly won't get rich. You will receive little or no money.
The few dollars you may get will probably not be as much as you spend
making and mailing copies of the chain letter.

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 prod-
uct 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.

Participating in a chain letter is a losing proposition. Turn over any
chain letter you receive that asks for money or other items of value to
your local postmaster or nearest Postal Inspector. Write on the mailing
envelope of the letter or in a separate transmittal letter, "I received
this in the mail and believe it may be illegal."

TheFLY

Not only are chain letters illegal in the U.S. (2 year jail term for
first offence, see below), they CAN NOT WORK. There would have to be
over 1,000,000,000,000 people participating for them to work. Here's
PROOF:

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The chain letters claim that you will make at least $10,000 (often they
claim $20,000 or $50,000), by people sending you $1 bills.

If the person who originally wrote the chain letter made $10,000 off of
it, then there are at least 10,000 people who have joined so far. That's
obvious; if someone made $10,000 from people sending him $1, then 10,000
people have joined so far.

In order for each of those 10,000 people to make $10,000, there would
need to be 100,000,000 people joining (10,000 people already in the
program, each causing another 10,000 to join; 10,000 times 10,000 is
100,000,000). That, too, is quite obvious.

So, if you saw this chain letter and joined it, according to the way the
chain letter claims it works, there would be 100,000,000 other people
joining. For all of you to make your $10,000, you would each need to
cause another 10,000 people to sign up. How many are we at now? It's
simple: 100,000,000 people times 10,000 new people each. That's
1,000,000,000,000 (1 trillion) people joining. That's about 200 times as
many people as there are on this planet.

Now do you understand why chain letters won't work?

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Chain letters are illegal if the chain letter or money is transferred
via U.S. Mail, and can get you a $1,000 fine and a 2 YEAR jail sentence
for your first offense. The second offence can get you in jail for
5 years. Even if transmitted via the Internet, they violate Title 18
USC Section 1302, the Postal Lottery Statute. For verification, you
can currently go to http://www.usps.gov/websites/depart/inspect/
chainlet.htm to see that it is illegal, and go to http://www.usps.gov/
websites/depart/inspect/usc18/lottery.htm for the text of the law).

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Feel free to copy this in response to any chain letters you see,
hopefully as enough people see this, the chain letters will stop.

goBigtime

Is sending cash via the us mail legal still? (or was it ever?)

1900guru

Illegal here in Canada too.

So are Pyramid Schemes like the clown in Britsh Columbia that spammed out to have everyone send him 5.00 . I forget the details but the FTC & RCMP busted him and I think his xmas gifts consist of soap on the rope now.

__________________

Phone$ex $$$ For Webmasters ... U Getting Some ?
1900 Guru. Still Here - Still Paying on time ... Every time!

LeeNoga

Illegal or not, they still are supported by suckers and will never g away.

How about the send a dollar get 5 back, amazing how our own friends believe in these and actually forward it to 5 people they know. When it gets to me I have to give them alot of shit face to face.

I am ashamed to have friends.

TheFLY

You're supposed to laugh... This shit is from 1995!