Sounds like a chain letter scheme to me -- illegal if done through the
mail, unethical if done via Internet. But what do I know? (Nothing.)

-AC.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
--- In pdqbach2@yahoogroups.com, "tomitronix" <tomitronix@y...> wrote:
> I have been on the internet for 10 years now and have
> received in my
> e-mail many many times letters referring to making
> money and like
> most of you have ignored them - anyway a few weeks ago
> I decided to
> see what happened as an experiment as I had heard
> quite good reports
> about this scheme over the last few years.
> 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 envestment of $12.00! 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 $2.00 to each of
> the 6 names
> and addresses stated in the article. You then place
> your own name and
> address in the bottom of the list at number 6, and
> post the article
> in at 100 newsgroups. (There are hundreds of
> thousands) No catch,
> that was it. So after thinking it over, and talking to
> a few people
> first, (especially the legal issue), I thought about
> trying it. I
> figured, "What have I got lose except 6 stamps and
> $12.00, right?"
> Then I invested the measly $12.00. 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 $70.00. By the end of the second
> week I made a
> total of over $1000.00! In the third week, I had over
> $10.000.00 and
> it's still growing. This is now my fourth week, I have
> made a total
> of just over $42.000.00, and it's still coming in
> rapidly. Let me
> tell you how this works and most importantly, WHY it
> works.
> Firstly, make sure you print a copy this
> article NOW, so you
> can get the information off as you need. I promise you
> that if you
> follow the directions exactly, that you will start
> making more than
> you thought possible by doing something so easy! Read
> this entire
> message carefully! (Print it out or download it.)
> Follow the simple
> directions and watch the money come! It's easy.
> IMPORTANT: This is
> not a rip-off, it is not indecent, it is completely
> LEGAL, and it is
> 99% no risk - it really works! If all of the following
> instructions
> are adhered to, you will receive extraordinary
> dividends.
>
> PLEASE NOTE: Follow these directions EXACTLY, and
> $50.000.00 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 for quality lists. However, the money
> made from Mailing
> Lists is secondary to the income which is made from
> people like you
> and me asking to included in that list. Here are the 3
> easy steps to
> success:
>
> STEP ONE: Get 6 separate pieces of paper. Write your
> name and address
> plus the following on each piece of paper "PLEASE PUT
> ME ON YOUR
> MAILING LIST." Now get the US$12 and place TWO inside
> EACH of the 6
> pieces of paper so the $2.00 will not be seen through
> the envelope
> (to prevent thievery). Next, place one paper in each
> of the envelopes
> and seal them. You whould now have 6 sealed envelopes,
> each with a
> piece of paper stating the above phrase, your name and
> address, and
> two $1.00. What you are doing is creating a service
> and you are
> paying for it! Like most of us, I was 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
> was indeed
> legal. Mail the 6 envelopes to each of the following
> adresses:
>
> 1. Rinat Kravicas /P.O.Box 19176 /Monroe,LA 71207-4176
> U.S.A
> 2. Leonardo Rodel Velayo/SCS 423/P.O.Box 7244/
> Momestic Airport/Pasay City/M.Manila/Philippines
>
> 3. Marvin Bernardo /SCS 423/Old City Market/Baguio
> City /Philippines
> 4. Marvin Paulo /P.O.Box 589/Baguio City/Philippines
> 2600
> 5. Theresa Barnes /P.O.Box 1096 /Myrtle,SC 29578/USA
> 6.Liron Gispan /P.O.Box 812/ Rishon Lezion/Israel / 75108
>
>
> STEP TWO: 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 THREE: Change anything you need to, but try to
> keep this article
> as close to the original as possible. Now, post this
> amended article
> to at least 100 newsgroups. ( There are close to
> 450,000 groups on
> Yahoo Groups alone). All you need is 100, but
> remember, the more you
> post, the more money YOU make! You won't get very much
> unless you
> post like crazy!
>
> This is perfectly legal! If you have any doubts,
> refer to Title
> 18 Sec. 1302 & 1341 of the International Postal
> Lottery Act. 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 a man 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.
> (It is a good
> idea to wrap the $1 in dark paper to reduce the risk
> of mail theft.)
> So, as each post is downloaded and directions
> carefully followed, six
> members will be reimbursed for their participation as
> a List
> Developer with two dollars each. Your name will move
> up the list
> geometrically so that when your name reaches the #1
> position you will
> be receiving tens of thousands of dollars in CASH!!!
> What an
> opportunity for only $12.00 ($2.00 for each of the six
> listed above)
> Send it now, add your name to the list and your're in
> business!
>
> NOTE: Send only US dollars in this program as the US
> dollar always
> has a stable xchange rate and is easily available to
> peoples outside
> the US.If you live outside the US then please exchange
> local currency
> int 12 US$. Exchanging money int $ is cheap, easy and
> can be done at
> most banks, post offices, embassies even super
> markets. It will all
> be worth it when you start receiving thousands of
> dollars in the
> mail. Also letters to places other than your own
> country, it is a
> good idea to send them air-mail not by land, there is
> not a lot of
> difference in price for this.
>
> **********************POSTING TO
> NEWSGROUPS**********************
>
> STEP ONE: You do not need to type this entire letter
> to do your own
> posting. Simply put your cursor at the beginning of
> this letter, drag
> your cursor to the bottom of this document, and select
> 'copy' from
> the edit menu. Open a blank 'notepad file' and place
> the cursor at
> the top of the document then select 'paste' from the
> edit menu. Then
> delete the first name #1, make the second name #1
> etc., then add your
> name and address to #6, then save the file as a .txt
> file, so you
> have the file to go back to.
>
> STEP TWO: Using Netscape or Internet Explorer try
> searching for
> various newsgroups (on-line forums, message
> boards,chat sites,
> discussion boards, etc.) One of the largest newsgroups
> can be found
> at Yahoo Groups (http://groups.yahoo.com) and ListBot
> at
> (http://listbot.com). Also if you are using Outlook
> Express and
> Netscape Messenger you will have access to hundreds of
> thousands of
> newsgroups worldwide. Visit these newsgroups,
> guestbooks, message
> boards etc., and post this article as a new message by
> highlighting
> the text of this letter selecting 'paste' from the
> edit menu. Fill in
> the subject header, try and think of something that a
> curious person
> cant resist from checking, that's it keep posting in
> the newsgroups,
> a matter of seconds. There is a faster way. If you use
> Microsoft
> Outlook or Outlook Express to select newsgroups
> rapidly. You only
> need a one time, 'Copy and Paste' to send to all of
> them
> automatically.
>
> ****REMEMBER, THE MORE NEWSGROUPS YOU POST, THE MORE
> YOU GET****
> You have to post a minimum of 100** and thats it!! You
> will start
> receiving money from around the world in a matter of
> days! You may
> 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 postal service will deliver it. Get all
> your work
> colleagues or schoolfriends involved. Talk it over
> with all your
> friends or simply post it to everyone in your email
> address book.
>
> Here are some useful links, but remember there are
> thousands more:
> Yahoo Groups http://groups.yahoo.com
> Smartgroups http://smartgroups.com
> Yahoo Clubs http://clubs.yahoo.com
> Listbot Http://www.listbot.com
> MSN Communities http://communities.msn.com
> Bravenet Forums http://www.bravenet.com
> Ezboard http://www.ezboard.com
>
> REMEMBER: This program relies on the honesty and
> integrity of the
> people involved we are in a WIN WIN situation,
> basically what we are
> doing is helping each other get enough money to afford
> those basic
> things we desperately want, with a lot more extra.
>
> So you have posted this message on at least 100
> newsgroups, you get 5
> responds to begin with. Each of the 5 persons sent you
> $2.00. These 5
> people now make the MINIMUM 100 postings, each with
> your name at #5
> and 5 persons respond to each of the original 5, that
> is another
> $50.00 for you, now those 25 each make 100 MINIMUM
> postings with your
> name at #4 and only 5 replies each, this will bring in
> an additional
> $1250.00 and you can see it just goes on and on and
> on.
>
> Good Luck to everybody that this works, I am sorry I
> have been a bit
> skeptic for all these years and now I am kicking
> myself for ignoring
> those e-mails because by now I could have been very
> very wealthy.
> --- End forwarded message ---