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A Postal-Mail Chain Letter?
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Posted By:
Maegan
in Tampa, FL - USA
Nov 14, 2004
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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: 1761 |
Comments
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Page 2 of 89 pages < 1 2 3 4 > Last › |
Winona
in USA
Member
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2005 | 10:03 AM
Wrong. TU.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns that if you start such a letter, or even just forward one on, you are breaking the law. Title 18, section 1302 &1341; of the US Postal and Lottery Laws actually states that chain letters (e-mail or otherwise) are illegal "if they request money or other items of value and promise a substantial return to the participants." Selling a report (which, coincidentally, is just more propaganda about the scheme) or adding respondents to a mythical mailing list do not make this thing legal. |
eric
in mass
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2005 | 10:52 AM
I got the same letter a couple of months ago. I knew it was a scam, however a legal one (since you're asking to be put on their mailing list - a service). However, I did it and sent out a hundred letters. The money stopped coming, but I received a total of 283.00. Certainly not $800,00!! But it was worth the investment of $33.00 in stamps and an hour of my time. Anyone else experience similiar results? |
Curious
in Recliner
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2005 | 07:23 PM
How'd you get 100 37c stamps for $33?
BTW, it's still illegal....
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Eric
in USA
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Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2005 | 05:09 AM
Sorry, I meant $37.00. I wasn't aware that it was illegal. I thought because you were "buying a service," it was a loophole. But it did work for me. Over three hundred dollars isn't a bad investment. I'm going to start looking for legal chain letters. There must be some way to make it legal and still make it work. |
Kosmo
in trouble most of the time
Member
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Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2005 | 06:22 AM
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00001302----000-.html
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00001342----000-.html
Be safe, check these links out. "buying a service" is no loophole - the problem is you are taking a risk and sending money -hoping- to receive money, and that's gambling. Pushing it thru the mail also makes it Federal.... |
cmca
in bunkie
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Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 | 03:55 PM
I received this letter also. I had just lost my home, so I showed my mom, We have never received a chain letter so we thought it was legit. I bought addresses from the internet and sent the letters out. I received some back and wrote on one of the envelopes was - is this legal? -
I thought it was. I sent out 200 of these things. I have not received any money but I didn't know it was illegal. I'm just hoping anybody who receives one of these letters from me will just throw it in the trash. I never expected to receive 800,000 but I really hope I don't get in trouble for this. I'm a divorced mom with two kids. I work hard but there just never seems to be enough money to make ends meet. This seemed like an inexpensive way to make extra money. |
Cranky Media Guy
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Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 | 04:37 AM
cmca, no, chain letters are never legal. If you'd like confirmation of this, ask your local postmaster. I wouldn't say that I had participated in one; just say that you received one and you want to know if it's legal.
It's highly unlikely that you will be prosecuted for your participation in a chain letter. I suspect that the postal officials are far more interested in the "big fish." Keep in mind, however, that I'm not a lawyer and this is just my personal opinion. I am correct, though, that chain letters are NOT legal. |
cindy
Member
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 | 10:44 AM
Thanks for your opinion CMG, I really hope nothing happens. If anyone out there receives one of these things from me, please accept my apology and just throw it in the trash. I will never send one of these things out again. Lesson learned. |
Cranky Media Guy
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2005 | 01:39 AM
cindy said:
"Thanks for your opinion CMG, I really hope nothing happens. If anyone out there receives one of these things from me, please accept my apology and just throw it in the trash. I will never send one of these things out again. Lesson learned."
No problem, Cindy. I really doubt that anything will happen to you; the postal authorities have their hands full dealing with the big fish.
You might consider checking out a few books from the library about pyramid schemes, chain letters and Ponzi schemes just to learn how this stuff works. It's a pretty interesting subject, I've always thought. Look in the card catalog under "fraud" or "impostors and imposture." There are some nifty books out there. |
roberto
in virginia
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Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 | 09:40 PM
i have also recieved this mail chain letter, i was so interested that i went out and tried it. ive been sending out letters now for about 4 months and ive been recieving money in the mail! a dollar at a time. i love the chain letter idea, and it worked for me (3,000 dollars on a 300 dollar investment). i say give it a try, if it doesnt work, so you lost 50 bucks! if your a smoker, you lose more then that in a year. deal with it, take a chance, it wont kill you! |
Cranky Media Guy
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Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 | 04:15 PM
Roberto, what you are engaged in is illegal. Chain letters have been illegal since the days of the Depression when they became so popular that the overwhelmed the Post Office.
No, the chain letter won't kill you, but it *could* put you in jail. NOW how good an idea does it seem to be involved in one?
Just so you know, the odds are that you won't get caught, but if for some reason you attract the attention of the postal authorities, you should be aware that they have an extremely high percentage of conviction. They rarely lose a case. |
Debby
in Suisun
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Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 | 03:09 PM
Perplexing? I just received one of these letters. I first checked the internet to see if this was a hoax. It may not be a hoax, but it is risky. The two links provided above with the law outlined were very helpful. But, they still don't prove that it is illegal. According to the law, it is illegal if there is a lottery, or you could say, some form of gambling. Some of this is left up to interpretation. Is sending these letters a gamble? If you and the law think it is, then it is illegal. If you and the law don't think it is, then it is legal. Often people do need to interpret the law. As much as I would love to see some money rolling in, I don't think I will take this chance. Not only do you have to pay for stamps, but you have to pay for paper, printing, and the mailing lists. The idea that there is a risk involved makes me feel as if it were gambling. I believe that if enough people complained, the post master will be looking into this.
Also, interesting is the fact that there was no return address on my letter, and the man who wrote the letter is not in the mailing list. Either he screwed up, or there is more to it being a scam. |
burlie
in la la land
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Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2006 | 06:19 PM
The person who sends you the letter isn't claiming to be an attorney. The person who started it is claiming to be an attorney. Then each person, (who may not be an attorney) just adds his/her name to the bottom of the list. I have received this letter three times but have never responded to it. Sounds too good to be true, maybe? |
Eightieschick70
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Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 | 02:30 PM
Oh wow me and my husband got this letter too
we both work full time but still aren making ends meet. we kept the letterfor 2 months before we did anything. we tossed the idea around saying what if. then we started getting signs (i know it sounds strange... but we did) anyway. we just sent them off like a week ago. yikes now im worried. we really were grasping at straws to get out of our finacial delema. sometimes i think that the government does whatever they can to keep the little guy down. im sorry and i hate it but thats really how i feel. im sorry that i sent those off now. |
Eightieschick70
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Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 | 04:36 PM
Hello,
after my last entry i was thinking some more.
weve tryed a few money making businesses off the internet and you know...all they want you to do id advertize for them and you know, ive never seen a penny. I really think this is better than that. its people helping eachouther and no one takes any more risk than anyone else. instead of giving my money to sone big business and letting them scam me for free advertising ild rather help out someone like myself who has dreams. its never bad to dream...without dreams we would be nothing. and if this would really work for someone who is desperate enough to try it then i say great. it really seems to me that the world consists of too many people who only want to keep eachouther down instead of lifting eachouther up and thats why the world is going down hill. |
hcmomof4
in So. Cal.
Member
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Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 | 06:59 PM
Eightieschick70,
There probably are a few things that the government involves itself in that DO keep the "little" guy down. In this case, though, it is actually trying to keep the little guy from getting screwed. (My personal opinion is that mostly the government doesn't even SEE us little guys...)
Here is just one link explaining the problem with this idea:
Pyramid schemes |
Cranky Media Guy
Member
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Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 | 02:11 AM
Eightieschick70, there is another little wrinkle in this scam: IT'S ILLEGAL. ALL postal chain letters are illegal under U.S. law. You don't have to take my word for it; just go to your local postmaster and ask him/her. Just say that you got a solicitation for one in the mail and you want to know if it's legal. Then it's up to you if you want to break the law or not.
Oh, by the way, just about ALL scams will tell you that they're "just people helping people." I've been hearing that bullshit since the 80's when I was a radio DJ in Allentown, PA trying to warn people not to get involved in a Ponzi scheme that was making its way through the Lehigh Valley at the time. In the World O' Scams' nothing much really changes, just the packaging. |
Sheila Sawyer
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 | 07:05 AM
I received this chain letter also. However there was a cover page on mine that states Make $250,000 in weeks AS SEEN ON OPRAH & 20/20 ***Oprah Winfrey and ABC's Investigation team 20/20 also prove it can be done*** ***proven by various, highly-respected U.S.TV and Radio programs as being 100% legal, feasible and true*** How do I go about notifying Oprah and 20/20 that their names are being used to promote this chain letter??? And/or did they really endorse this as being legal??? |
MissyMay24
Member
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Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2006 | 03:08 PM
I can tell you where they get your name from. My daughter got one of these exact letters today at my house. She recently moved here and changed her address for her Victoria's Secret credit card. The cards are issued by a bank that goes by the name of WFNNB.
After she changed it, they got the address wrong the first time and she notified them of the correct address, which they changed. However, not before selling her name and the incorrect address as part of a mailing list.
If not for that typo, she wouldn't have known where somebody she doesn't know got her name and address.
If you do any business with WFNNB and you don't want them to sell your name, you have to call an automated line and specifically opt-out. You can find them online at wfnnb.com
So, if you have a department or specialty store credit card such as Victoria's Secret, JC Penney, Gap, Wal-mart, Nordstrom, Sears, Office Depot, Old Navy, it could be affiliated with WFNNB so you might want to make sure they know you don't want your name sold.
Heck, you might want to check with the issuers of all your credit cards, regardless. |
nate
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Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2006 | 01:00 PM
So i am looking at the letter right now. i got it in the mail last sunday. so i here a bunch of people saying it is illegal. but there aren't any true facts that back them up. I acutally took it to a lawyer and he told me that it is open for interpratation. For starters it is a chain letter becasue it is the same letter everyone gets and you add a link of the chain by adding your name. second the person that started this letter isn't asking for a dollar but simply telling you to send a dollar to the people on the list. I send money to my brother for his birthday is that leagal. also it says to use a certian company to get the mailing list. well if that is illegal then don't use that company. it continues to say if you mail it out to 200 people they will send you a dollar just like you sent the six people a dollar. The reason this isn't illegal is becasue all you are doing is sending money for nothing. i had a dream one night that just like a kid i would run around and aks for a quarter. people would give me a quarter all the time. i saved alot as a kid and it turned out for the better. it payed for my college. all these points are up for interpratation. it is not illegal to send someone money. it is not a pyramid because the person that started it gets dropped off the list. it is a chain letter however and that is illegal. im going to try this and if i loose 100 bucks oh freekin well. i'll spend that in the bar on a sat night any way so big deal. based on opinion this particular letter is not 100% illegal and since im not a lawyer i can't be expected to know 100% of the law. |
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