Does this headline look familiar? Of course it does. You
most likely have just seen this story recently featured on a
major nightly news program (USA).
His mother was cleaning and putting laundry away when she
came across a large brown paper bag that was suspiciously
buried beneath some clothes and a skateboard in the back of
her 15-year-old son's closet. Nothing could have prepared
her for the shock she got when she opened the bag and found
it was full of cash. Five-dollar bills, twenties, fifties
and hundreds - all neatly rubber-banded in labeled piles.
"My first thought was that he had robbed a bank", says the
41-year-old woman, "There was over $71,000 dollars in that
bag- that's more than my husband earns in a year".
The woman immediately called her husband at the car
dealership where he worked to tell him what she'd
discovered. He came home right away and they drove together
to the boy's school and picked him up. Little did they
suspect that where the money came from was more shocking
than actually finding it in the closet.
As it turns out, the boy had been sending out via E-mail on
the Internet a type of 'chain-letter' to E-mail addresses
that he obtained off of the Internet.
Everyday after school for the past 2 months, he had been
doing this right on his computer in his bedroom.
"I just got the E-mail one day and I figured what the heck,
I put my name on it like the instructions said and I started
sending it out", says the clever 15-year-old.
The E-mail letter listed 3 addresses and contained
instructions to send one $5 dollar bill the people on the
below list, then delete the top address and move the other 2
addresses up, and finally to add your name to the bottom of
the list. The letter goes on to state that you would
receive several thousand dollars in five dollar bills within
2 weeks if you sent out the letter with your name at the
bottom of the 3-address list "I get junk E-mail all the
time, and I really didn't think it was gonna work", the boy
continues. Within the first few days of sending out the E-
mail, the Post Office Box that his parents had gotten him
for his video-game magazine subscriptions began to fill up
with not magazines, but envelopes containing $5 dollar
bills.
"About a week later I rode [my bike] down to the post office
and my box had 1 magazine and about 300 envelopes stuffed in
it. There was also a yellow slip that said I had to go up
to the [post office] counter- I thought I was in trouble or
something (laughs)". He goes on, "I went up to the counter
and they had a whole box of more mail for me. I had to ride
back home and empty out my backpack 'cause I couldn't carry
it all".
Over the next few weeks, the boy continued sending out the
E-mail. "The money just kept coming in and I just kept
sorting it and stashing it in the closet, I barely had time
for my homework". He had also been riding his bike to
several of the area's banks and exchanging the $5 bills for
twenties, fifties and hundreds. "I didn't want the banks to
get suspicious so I kept riding to different banks with like
five thousand at a time in my backpack. I would usually tell
the lady at the bank counter that my dad had sent me in to
exchange the money and he was outside waiting for me. One
time the lady gave me a really strange look and told me that
she wouldn't be able to do it or me and my dad would have to
come in and do it, but I just rode to the next bank down the
street (laughs)."
Surprisingly, the boy didn't have any reason to be afraid.
The reporting news team examined and investigated the so-
called 'chain-letter' the boy was sending out and found that
it wasn't a chain-letter at all. In fact, it was completely
legal according to US Postal and Lottery Laws, Title 18,
Section 1302 and 1341, or Title 18, Section 3005 in the US
code, also in the code of federal regulations, Volume 16,
Sections 255 and 436, which state a product or service must
be exchanged for money received. Every five dollar bill
that he received contained a little note that read, "Please
add me to your mailing list". This simple note made the
letter legal because he was exchanging a service (adding the
purchaser's name to his mailing list) for a five dollar fee.
Here is the letter that the 15-year-old was sending out by
E-mail. You can do the exact same thing he was doing, simply
by following the instructions in this letter
--------------------------------------------------------
Here are instructions on how to make $10,000 US cash in the
next 2 weeks:
There are 3 addresses listed below. Send each of the people
on the list a US$5 bill wrapped in 2 pieces of paper (to
securely hide it), along with a note that says: "Please add
me to your mailing list". Then delete the top name, move the
other 2 up and put your name at the bottom.
Now start sending this ENTIRE e-mail back out to people.
When 20 people receive it, those 20 people will move your
name up to the middle position and they will each send out
20. That totals 400 people that will receive this letter
with your name in the middle.
Then, those 400 people will move your name up to the top and
they will each send out 20 E-mails. That totals 8,000
people that will receive this E-mail with your name at the
top and they will each send you a US$5 bill.
8,000 people each sending you a US$5 bill = US$40,000 cash.
That's if everyone responds to this E-mail, but not everyone
will, so you can expect more realistically to receive about
US$10,000 cash $5 bills in your mailbox.
This will work for anyone, anywhere in the world in any
country, but send only a US CASH $5 bill.
However if you are sending to someone in your own country
you may send the equivalent of US $5 in your local currency
e.g. someone from New Zealand may send a New Zealand member
NZ$10 cash. Otherwise keep to the US$5 cash.
The more emails you send out, the more cash you will
receive. If each person sends out 100 E-mails, there will
be 1,000,000 people that receive this letter when your name
reaches the top. If only 1% of those people respond, you
will still get US$50,000 cash.
Here is the list:
Make a copy BEFORE moving names.
--------------------------------------------------
1. J. Ramirez
1430 S. Grand Ave., #302
Glendora, CA. 91741
USA
2. G. Bailey
P.O. Box 89
Blaine, WA. 98231
USA
3. N. Anctil
P.O. Box 1363
Sumas, WA. 98295-1363
USA
--------------------------------------------------
THERE'S NOTHING MORE TO DO. When your name reaches the top
in a few days, you will start receiving US$5 bills from
other people just like yourself, who are willing to invest a
US $5 bill to receive US$10,000 cash. If you don't try it -
you will never, never know.
**************************************************************
* THIS IS A ONE-TIME EMAIL. YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE ANY FURTHER *
* EMAILS FROM US. THEREFORE NO REQUEST FOR REMOVAL IS *
* REQUIRED. *
**************************************************************
Does this headline look familiar? Of course it does. You
most likely have just seen this story recently featured on a
major nightly news program (USA).
