roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith) (07/22/87)
I'm not sure this falls into the standard framework of messages that
are important for everybody on usenet to see, but since the chain letter is
probably aimed at many of the people who read the net, I thought this might
be a good way to alert people. [I think it fits fine - MRH.]
I got in the U.S. mail yesterday what appears on the surface to be a
newsletter from American Software Publishers. Looking a little closer,
however, it seems like a standard ponzi scheme chain letter. The idea is to
redistribute shareware programs at $8 a shot, with the standard "put your
name at the bottom of this list, send the list to 10 other people, and send
$8 to the person currently on the top of the list" routine.
This is a classic example of mail fraud, and you shouldn't fall for
it. The US Postal Service takes a very dim view of this sort of stuff. I
have already contacted the New York Postal Inspector; they will be starting
an investigation which could possibly culminate in criminal charges being
pressed. If you have received such a letter, I would urge you to contact
your local postal authorities to report it.
Some random quotes from the letter: "If you follow instructions, you
can expect to make at least $70,000 in the next 10 days", "you must follow
these instructions to the letter", "Once you become the #1 publisher, your
10,000 customers will be sending you $8 each to receive your software".
--
Roy Smith, {allegra,cmcl2,philabs}!phri!roy
System Administrator, Public Health Research Institute
455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016