🚀 go-pugleaf

Thank you for the information regarding this chain letter.
Mark Davis wrote in message <370C63A5.3F7C6647@postoffice.swbell.net>...
>Subject:
>  Re: $$$ MONEY WILL COME TO YOU $$$
>       Date:
>            Thu, 08 Apr 1999 01:00:50 -0700
>      From:
>            Mark Davis <medavis@postoffice.swbell.net>
>   Reply-To:
>            medavis@swbell.net
>        To:
>            fake@fake.net
>        CC:
>            abuse@swbell.net
>
> References:
>            1 , 2
>
>
>
>
>To Whom It May Concern,
>
> It seems that I have gotten myself caught up in something that I did
>not think was illegal. I am replying to this E-Mail letter sent
>to me and some of the news groups that I mistakenly sent the chain
>letter to. As I said, I did not know that this letter was
>considered a chain letter and that it was illegal. With this now in
>mind. I wish, I had not sent it. And wish anybody that reads it
>would disregard it. Anybody from the Post office, I.R.S. or SWBell that
>wish to talk to me about this and or advise me on this
>subject or wishes to know where I got this idea from. Please send me an
>E-Mail letter and I will reply A.S.A.P. I am sorry that, I
>did this now but there isn't anything that I can do to take back the
>E-Mail letters that I sent out already, as soon as I had any hint
>of this letter being illegal I stopped sending it out. I will send a
>copy of this E-Mail letter and all of its contents (with yours and my
>commits) to all of the News Groups that I sent the E-Mail letter to.
>
>Regards,
>Mark Davis
>medavis@swbell.net
>
>Shadow wrote:
>
>  I have included 2 links to the post offices web page for those that
>want
>  more information. This is an ILLEGAL SCAM do not join in one of these
>  chain letters.
>
>  (the Post Office has rearranged their Web site and I haven't updated
>the
>  links yet)
>
>   Also any of these that I receive I do forward to the Postal
>Inspector,
>  I.R.S., and my ISP for action
>
>  http://www.usps.gov/websites/depart/inspect/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.)
>
>  Recently, high-tech chain letters have begun surfacing. They may be
>  disseminated 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
>  investment.
>  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 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.
>
>  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."
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
---
>
>  http://www.usps.gov/websites/depart/inspect/usc18/mailfr.htm
>
>     [Inspection Service Seal]   United States
>                                 Postal Inspection Service
>
>  Mail Fraud and Misrepresentation
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>  Title 18, United States Code
>
>  Section 1341. Frauds and swindles
>
>  Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice
>to
>  defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or
>  fraudulent
>  pretenses, representations, or promises, or to sell, dispose of, loan,
>
>  exchange, alter, give away, distribute, supply, or furnish or procure
>  for
>  unlawful use any counterfeit or spurious coin, obligation, security,
>or
>  other article, or anything represented to be or intimated or held out
>to
>  be
>  such counterfeit or spurious article, for the purpose of executing
>such
>  scheme or artifice or attempting so to do, places in any post office
>or
>  authorized depository for mail matter, any matter or thing whatever to
>
>  be
>  sent or delivered by the Postal Service, or deposits or causes to be
>  deposited any matter or thing whatever to be sent or delivered by any
>  private or commercial interstate carrier, or takes or receives
>  therefrom,
>  any such matter or thing, or knowingly causes to be delivered by mail
>or
>  such carrier according to the direction thereon, or at the place at
>  which
>  it is directed to be delivered by the person to whom it is addressed,
>  any
>  such matter or thing, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned
>not
>  more than five years, or both. If the violation affects a financial
>  institution, such person shall be fined not more than $ 1,000,000 or
>  imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.
>
>  Section 1342. Fictitious name or address
>
>  Whoever, for the purpose of conducting, promoting, or carrying on by
>  means
>  of the Postal Service, any scheme or device mentioned in section 1341
>of
>  this title or any other unlawful business, uses or assumes, or
>requests
>  to
>  be addressed by, any fictitious, false, or assumed title, name, or
>  address
>  or name other than his own proper name, or takes or receives from any
>  post
>  office or authorized depository of mail matter, any letter, postal
>card,
>  package, or other mail matter addressed to any such fictitious, false,
>
>  or
>  assumed title, name, or address, or name other than his own proper
>name,
>  shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five
>years,
>  or
>  both.
>
>  Section 1345. Injunctions against fraud
>
>  (a)
>
>       (1) If a person is -
>            (A) violating or about to violate this chapter or section
>287,
>            371 (insofar as such violation involves a conspiracy to
>  defraud
>            the United States or any agency thereof), or 1001 of this
>  title;
>            or
>            (B) committing or about to commit a banking law violation
>            (defined in section 3322(d) of this title), the Attorney
>  General
>            may commence a civil action in any Federal court to enjoin
>  such
>            violation.
>
>       (2) If a person is alienating or disposing of property, or
>intends
>  to
>       alienate or dispose of property, obtained as a result of a
>banking
>  law
>       violation (as defined in section 3322(d) of this title) or
>property
>       which is traceable to such violation, the Attorney General may
>       commence a civil action in any Federal court -
>            (A) to enjoin such alienation or disposition of property; or
>
>            (B) for a restraining order to -
>                 (i) prohibit any person from withdrawing, transferring,
>
>                 removing, dissipating, or disposing of any such
>property
>  or
>                 property of equivalent value; and
>                 (ii) appoint a temporary receiver to administer such
>                 restraining order.
>
>            (3) A permanent or temporary injunction or restraining order
>
>            shall be granted without bond.
>            (b) The court shall proceed as soon as practicable to the
>  hearing
>            and determination of such an action, and may, at any time
>  before
>            final determination, enter such a restraining order or
>            prohibition, or take such other action, as is warranted to
>            prevent a continuing and substantial injury to the United
>  States
>            or to any person or class of persons for whose protection
>the
>            action is brought. A proceeding under this section is
>governed
>  by
>            the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, except that, if an
>            indictment has been returned against the respondent,
>discovery
>  is
>            governed by the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
>
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>  P.S. The I.R.S. is also interested in the claims made in these letters
>
>  of making $50,000.00 in a couple of months (they Will want to collect
>  TAXES)
>
>  THE LETTER ATTACHED IS AN ILLEGAL CHAIN LETTER I INCLOSED IT AS AN
>  EXAMPLE
>  OF WHAT SOME MORON BELIEVED AND POSTED.
>
>  Mark Davis wrote:
>  >
>  > Subject: $$$ MONEY WILL COME TO YOU $$$
>  >
>  > WANNA MAKE MONEY??????
>  >
>  > READING THIS COULD CHANGE YOUR LIFE!
>  >
>  >
>  > I found this on a bulletin board and decided to try it. A little
>  > while back, I was browsing through newsgroups, just like you are
>now,
>  > and came across an article similar to this that said you could make
>  > thousands of dollars within weeks with only an initial investment of
>
>  > $6.00! So I thought, "Yeah right, this must be a scam", but
>  > like most of us, I was curious, so I kept reading. Anyway, it said
>  > that you send $1.00 to each of the 6 names and address stated in the
>
>  > article. You then place your own name and address in the bottom of
>  > the list at #6, and post the article in at least 200 newsgroups.
>  > (There are thousands) No catch, that was it. So after thinking it
>  > over, and talking to a few people first, I thought about trying it.
>I
>  > figured: "what have I got to lose except 6 stamps and $6.00,
>  > right?" Then I invested the measly $6.00. Well GUESS WHAT!!...
>  > within 7 days, I started getting money in the mail! I was shocked! I
>
>  > figured it would end soon, but the money just kept coming in. In my
>  > first week, I made about $25.00. By the end of the second week I had
>
>  > made a total of over $1,000.00! In the third week I had over
>  > $10,000.00 and it's still growing. This is now my fourth week and I
>  > have made a total of just over $42,000.00 and it's still coming in
>  > rapidly. It's certainly worth $6.00, and 6 stamps, I have spent more
>
>  > than that on the lottery!! Let me tell you how this works and most
>  > importantly, why it works....Also, make sure you print a copy of
>this
>  > article NOW, so you can get the information off of it as you need
>it.
>  > I promise you that if you follow the directions exactly, that you
>  > will start making more money than you thought possible by doing
>  > something so easy!
>  > Suggestion: Read this entire message carefully! (print it out or
>  > download it.) Follow the simple directions and watch the money come
>  > in!
>  > It's easy. It's legal. And, your investment is only $6.00 (Plus
>  > postage)
>  > IMPORTANT: This is not a rip-off; it is not indecent; it is not
>  > illegal; and it is virtually no risk - it really works!!!!
>  > If all of the following instructions are adhered to, you will
>receive
>  > extraordinary dividends. PLEASE NOTE:
>  > Please follow these directions EXACTLY, and $50,000 or more can be
>  > yours in 20 to 60 days. This program remains successful because of
>  > the honesty and integrity of the participants. Please continue its
>  > success by carefully adhering to the instructions.
>  > You will now become part of the Mail Order business. In this
>business
>  > your product is not solid and tangible, it's a service. You are in
>  > the business of developing Mailing Lists. Many large corporations
>are
>  > happy to pay big bucks for quality lists. However, the money made
>  > from the mailing lists is secondary to the income which is made from
>
>  > people like you and me asking to be included in that list.
>  >
>  > 18 Years and older please!
>  >
>  > Here are the 4 easy steps to success:
>  >
>  > STEP 1: Get 6 separate pieces of paper and write the following on
>  > each piece of paper
>  >
>  > "PLEASE PUT ME ON YOUR MAILING LIST."
>  > Name: & Address:
>  >
>  > Now get 6 US $1.00 bills and place ONE inside EACH of the 6 pieces
>of
>  > paper so the bill will not be seen through the envelope (to prevent
>  > thievery). Next, place one paper in each of the 6 envelopes and seal
>
>  > them. You should now have 6 sealed envelopes, each with a piece of
>  > paper stating the above phrase, your name and address, and a $1.00
>  > bill. What you are doing is creating a service. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY
>  > LEGAL! You are requesting a legitimate service and you are paying
>for
>  > it! Like most of us I was a little skeptical and a little worried
>  > about the legal aspects of it all. So I checked it out with the U.S.
>
>  > Post Office (1-800-725-2161) and they confirmed that it is indeed
>  > legal! Mail the 6 envelopes to the following addresses:
>  >
>  >
>  >
>  > #1)  Jake Conner
>  > 213 Royal Oak Cir.
>  > Longwood, FL 32779
>  >
>  > #2) Joey Re
>  > 1110 Portsmith Dr.
>  > Island Lake, IL 60042
>  >
>  > #3) Timothy Reed
>  > 9665 Old Rte. 31
>  > Clyde, NY 14433
>  >
>  > #4) Halldor Gunnarsson
>  > Hvammstangabraut 22
>  > 530 Hvammstangi, Iceland
>  >
>  > #5) David Jhonson
>  > Drangahrauni 6E
>  > Hafnarfir�i 220,  Iceland
>  >
>  > #6) Mark Davis
>  > 19242 Cypress Canyon
>  > Katy, Texas 77449
>  > U.S.A.
>  >
>  >
>  >
>  > STEP 2: Now take the #1 name off the list that you see above, move
>  > the other names up (6 becomes 5, 5 becomes 4, etc...) and add YOUR
>  > Name as number 6 on the list.
>  >
>  > STEP 3: Change anything you need to, but try to keep this article as
>
>  > close to original as possible. Now, post your amended article to at
>  > least 200 newsgroups. (I think there are close to 24,000 groups) All
>
>  > you need is 200, but remember, the more you post, the more money you
>
>  > make!
>  >
>  > This is perfectly legal! If you have any doubts, refer to Title 18
>  > Sec. 1302 & 1341 of the Postal lottery laws.
>  >
>  > Keep a copy of these steps for yourself and, whenever you need
>money,
>  > you can use it again, and again.
>  >
>  >
>  > PLEASE REMEMBER that this program remains successful because of the
>  > honesty and integrity of the participants and by their carefully
>  > adhering to the directions. Look at it this way. If you are of
>  > integrity, the program will continue and the money that so many
>  > others have received will come your way.
>  >
>  >
>  >
>  > NOTE: You may want to retain every name and address sent to you,
>  > either on a computer or hard copy and keep the notes people send
>you.
>  > This VERIFIES that you are truly providing a service. (Also, it
>might
>  > be a good idea to wrap the $1 bill in dark paper to reduce the risk
>  > of mail theft.)
>  > So, as each post is downloaded and the directions carefully
>followed,
>  > six members will be reimbursed for their participation as a List
>  > Developer with one dollar each. Your name will move up the list
>  > geometrically so that when your name reaches the #1 position you
>will
>  > be receiving thousands of dollars in CASH!!! What an opportunity for
>
>  > only $6.00 ($1.00 for each of the first six people listed above)
>Send
>  > it now, add your own name to the list and you're in business!
>  >
>  >
>  >
>  > ---DIRECTIONS ----- FOR HOW TO POST TO NEWSGROUPS------------
>  > Step 1) You do not need to re-type this entire letter to do your own
>
>  > posting. Simply put your cursor at the beginning of this letter and
>  > drag your cursor to the bottom of this document, and select 'copy'
>  > from the edit menu. This will copy the entire letter into the
>  > computer's memory.
>  > Step 2) Open a blank 'notepad' file and place your cursor at the top
>
>  > of the blank page. From the 'edit' menu select 'paste'. This will
>  > paste a copy of the letter into notepad so that you can add your
>name
>  > to the list. Step 3) Save your new notepad file as a .txt file. If
>  > you want to do your postings in different settings, you'll always
>  > have this file to go back to.
>  > Step 4) Use Netscape or Internet explorer and try searching for
>  > various newsgroups (on-line forums, message boards, chat sites,
>  > discussions.)
>  > Step 5) Visit these message boards and post this article as a new
>  > message by highlighting the text of this letter and selecting paste
>  > from the edit menu. Fill in the Subject, this will be the header
>that
>  > everyone sees as they scroll through the list of postings in a
>  > particular group, click the post message button. You're done with
>  > your first one! Congratulations...THAT'S IT! All you have to do is
>  > jump to different newsgroups and post away, after you get the hang
>of
>  > it, it will take about 30 seconds for each newsgroup! **REMEMBER,
>THE
>  > MORE NEWSGROUPS YOU POST IN, THE MORE MONEY YOU WILL MAKE!! BUT YOU
>  > HAVE TO POST A MINIMUM OF 200** That's it! You will begin receiving
>  > money from around the world within days! You may eventually want to
>  > rent a P.O.Box due to the large amount of mail you will receive. If
>  > you wish to stay anonymous, you can invent a name to use, as long as
>
>  > the postman will deliver it.
>  >
>  > **JUST MAKE SURE ALL THE ADDRESSES ARE CORRECT.**
>  > Now the WHY part: Out of 200 postings, say I receive only 5 replies
>(a
>  > very
>  > low
>  > example). So then I made $5.00 with my name at #6 on the letter.
>Now,
>  > each of the 5 persons who just sent me $1.00 make the MINIMUM 200
>  > postings, each with my name at #5 and only 5 persons respond to each
>
>  > of the original 5, that is another $25.00 for me, now those 25 each
>  > make 200 MINIMUM posts with my name at #4 and only 5 replies each, I
>
>  > will bring in an additional $125.00! Now, those 125 persons turn
>  > around and post the MINIMUM 200 with my name at #3 and only receive
>5
>  > replies each, I will make an additional $626.00! OK, now here is the
>
>  > fun part, each of those 625 persons post a MINIMUM 200 letters with
>  > my name at #2 and they each only receive 5 replies, that just made
>me
>  > $3,125.00!!! Those 3,125 persons will all deliver this message to
>200
>  > newsgroups with my name at #1 and if still 5 persons per 200
>  > newsgroups react I will receive $15,625,00! With an original
>  > investment of only $6.00! AMAZING! When your name is no longer on
>the
>  > list, you just take the latest posting in the newsgroups, and send
>  > out another $6.00 to names on the list, putting your name at number
>6
>  > again. And start posting again. The thing to remember is: do you
>  > realize that thousands of people all over the world are joining the
>  > internet and reading these articles everyday?, JUST LIKE YOU are
>  > now!! So, can you afford $6.00 and see if it really works?? I think
>  > so... People have said, "what if the plan is played out and no
>  > one sends you the money? So what! What are the chances of that
>  > happening when there are tons of new honest users and new honest
>  > people who are joining the internet and newsgroups everyday and are
>  > willing to give it a try? Estimates are at 20,000 to 50,000 new
>  > users, every day, with thousands of those joining the actual
>  > internet. Remember, play FAIRLY and HONESTLY and this will really
>  > work.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>