rsalz@bbn.com (Rich Salz) (05/25/88)
If you are as annoyed as by these "HELP ME" messages being spewed all over the net as I am, you might appreciate the #T line shown below... #N .portal.com, .portal.net, portal #F sun.com #O Portal Communications Company #C John Little #E portal!postmaster #T +1 408 973 9111 #P 19720 Auburn Drive, Cupertino, CA 95014 #L 122 02 W / 37 19 N city #R Portal Communications Company gateway #W portal!jel (John Little); Sun Sep 13 21:10:41 PDT 1987 /rich $alz -- Please send comp.sources.unix-related mail to rsalz@uunet.uu.net.
roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith) (05/25/88)
In article <776@fig.bbn.com> rsalz@bbn.com (Rich Salz) writes: > If you are as annoyed as by these "HELP ME" messages being spewed all > over the net as I am, you might appreciate the #T line shown below... I did indeed. I called Portal this morning and left my name and number on their answering machine. An hour or so later somebody called me back. When I explained why I was calling she assured me that they were aware of the situation and had yanked JJ's account yesterday morning (that would be the morning of the 24th, the same date as the latest round of JJ messages). -- Roy Smith, System Administrator Public Health Research Institute 455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016 {allegra,philabs,cmcl2,rutgers}!phri!roy -or- phri!roy@uunet.uu.net
garyg@hpscdc.HP.COM (Gary Gitzen) (05/26/88)
>If you are as annoyed as by these "HELP ME" messages ........... > #T +1 408 973 9111 An unidentified voice at that number claimed at ~11AM PDT this morning that JJ no longer had an account on Portal. Gary
gordon@sneaky.UUCP (05/28/88)
To anyone who actually sent money to cup.portal.com!JJ: The US Postal Inspector in charge of the area covering JJ's post office box would like to hear from you: Regional Chief Postal Inspector Central Region 433 West Van Buren Chicago, Illinois 60607-5401 Attn: Fraud Section (312) 765-7900 Please send a copy of JJ's article, a letter of complaint explaining that the article was NOT transmitted by mail but that the payment was, and details of the payment (having a cancelled check would be ideal. Swearing that you sent cash is helpful also). If you have any substantiation that JJ isn't nearly as poor as he says he is, or JJ's real name, send that also. As far as the Post Office is concerned, blatant panhandling over USENET is not illegal until the U.S. Mail is actually used to receive payments (and with a Post Office Box, it's hard to send by any other method, like UPS or Federal Express). They are interested in the article even without payment involved, but it would do little good to innundate the Post Office with thousands of copies of the article with no proof of a crime. Gordon Burditt ...!ihnp4!sys1!sneaky!gordon
root@uisc1.UUCP (Super user) (06/02/88)
In article <-70409151@sneaky>, gordon@sneaky.UUCP writes: > > To anyone who actually sent money to cup.portal.com!JJ: > > The US Postal Inspector in charge of the area covering JJ's post office > box would like to hear from you: Question 1: Did YOU actually send money to JJ? > Please send a copy of JJ's article, a letter of complaint What specifically are YOU complaining about? Did you send money? Then why do you want US to send a letter of complaint? If not, then why are you trying to get US to hound this poor clown? I am curious about what YOU are getting out of it? > If you have any substantiation that > JJ isn't nearly as poor as he says he is What's that got to do with anything? The real question should be: Were YOU hurt by JJ's request for money? Did he coerce you? Were you too stupid to say "No, I will not send JJ any money?" And please, none of this bull about someone has to pay to transmit the News. That's true, but chances are YOU personally ain't the person who does. > As far as the Post Office is concerned, blatant panhandling over USENET is > not illegal until the U.S. Mail is actually used to receive payments As far as the law is concerned, blatant (or not so blatant) panhandling over a private network is never illegal. Receiving money through the postal services is also never illegal. Soliciting money through the mail, by the way, is not illegal most of the time either, but that doesn't matter since JJ didn't do that. Let's take a closer look at the whole issue. What happend? A guy posted a News message telling a sob story about being in his third year of college, not having the money to finish, not being willing to quit, and asking us for money ($1 per person). Then he gave a PO Box to send the money to under the name "JJ's College Fund." Just what, pray tell, is wrong with that? My first thought was "Sure, it's a scam, but so what? It's one of the least effective ones I have seen in years. What's the poor sod going to receive? $10? $25? Probably not even enough to pay for the PO Box." I wasn't upset at his post. In fact, I sat down and wrote a reply, assuming the guy was for real. I pointed out some alternatives, such as foundations, and frankly, I hope the guy IS for real and that he makes it. But what if he isn't? What REAL harm has he done? Again, were YOU dumb enough to send in your buck? I wasn't! I would suspect the majority of people on Usenet weren't either. And those who did send in their dollar probably got more out of it then they would get for most of the dollars they spend: intangibles like a good feeling about having helped someone out, be he a con artist or a real student down on his luck. Frankly, YOUR message disturbed me MUCH more than his. Your reaction was "Let's call the authorities and throw the bastard in jail," or sentiments to that effect. I see two things that are drastically wrong with this. The first is that it's overkill. Do you REALLY believe, even if it was a scam, that the 15 or even 50 people who were bilked out of one measly dollar were hurt enough to ruin that poor jerk's life? The second point is that there are REAL cases of fraud out there that hurt people. The postal inspectors have more than enough work to do already trying to prevent real con-artists from bilking people out of their life's earnings to waste their time with a penny-ante operator who doesn't even seem to know what a real scam is. And all for what? YOUR self-gratification and self-aggrandizement? Finally, your message just happens to put the exclamation point on a whole string of far-right "law and order" type of symptoms that seems to turn this country into a direction I do not think we really want to go. Kids turning in their parents for smoking grass. Neighbors setting their neighbors' houses on fire because they do immoral things in them, things like that. I think it's about time we started thinking about the meaning of the word "freedom." Freedom, at least to me, implies tolerance. In other words, if JJ didn't hurt YOU, mind your own business. If YOU did, on the other hand, send in money to JJ, then maybe you should examine your own head. Not for being stupid for sending in money, but for not knowing what it is you really want to do. I chose not to send any money to JJ. I have no gripe with his message, whether it was a scam or a real plea. Let those who feel that they PERSONALLY were really hurt raise their hands. I suspect nobody will. > it would do little good to innundate the Post Office with thousands of > copies of the article with no proof of a crime. You know, that's the first smart thing I have read in your entire article. Just what is YOUR problem? Franz Bauchrowitz uucp: {mibte,mcf,rel}!uisc1!franz