Hope yesterday’s post was enlightening. Today I’m going to discuss chain letters. And we’ve probably all received one of these at one point or another.
From memory, chain letters were more prevalent in the 80s and 90s more so than later – when people kind of wised up to what the real motives were. I think these days they have been replaced with the Nigerian e-mail scams haven’t they? So with chain letters the new recruits send a letter with a list of names on it, including their own at the bottom of the list. People that receive the letter are then asked to send money to the person whose name is at the top of the list and to then add their own name to the bottom. Money is made solely by recruiting new people to join the chain scheme, adding their names to bottom of the list, sending money to the person at the top and then adding new recruits once again to the bottom.
In theory, eventually everyone gets to the top of the list and will receive millions of dollars. In actuality, most people receive nothing. Obviously, anyone can break the chain by simply doing nothing, thus depriving anyone on the list of any potential ‘earnings’. Even still, however, if one person was to break the chain, still 95% of those on the list will send money and receive nothing back.
In principle, chain letters are pretty similar to pyramid scams. The basic difference is that there isn’t exactly a lot of deception involved with chain letters. It’s pretty straightforward. You know right from the get go you have to send money to a complete stranger and then expect another complete stranger to do the same for you. And just as with pyramid schemes, it preys on the greedy.
As I said earlier, I think these scams petered out long ago, but honestly, I don’t need to tell you to ignore one of these if they arrived in your mailbox, just the same as if you receive an e-mail from some Nigerian ‘Prince” claiming his Father has cancer and the authorities are chasing him and he needs to hide his millions in someone else’s bank account and he will pay you interest to do so. This is much more clever than a simple chain letter as it really does prey on the unwary, unsophisticated, greedy, desperate and vulnerable.
Every single day I receive around 6 contact requests via Skype from so called “US Military” personnel wanting some form of relationship – usually romantic. And here lies another scam. And we’ve seen this on every current affairs show there is haven’t we? Lonely women who befriend these thieves online and then hand over their life savings at a seeming whim. They sweep these women off their feet – making them believe they are someone they are not and convincing them they are in love with them and to hand over their cash for some worthy cause such as medical treatment for a family member or to travel to see them.
No doubt about it – you have to be on your guard at all times these days – especially online. If something makes you feel uncomfortable, get someone else to check it out before you take any actions – especially arranging a money transfer overseas. These scammers have become a LOT more sophisticated and clever in their approach. Never let down your guard. And once again, always do your research. Find evidence to prove what they are saying and never be reluctant to hand over details to the relevant authorities.
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