The Set Up

Everybodys received them - chain letters or email messages that promise a big return on a small investment. The promises include unprecedented good luck, mountains of recipes, or worse, huge financial rewards for sending as little as $5 to someone on a list or making a telephone call.

The Scam

The simplest chain letters contain a list of names and addresses, with instructions to send money to the person at the top of the list, remove that name from the list, and add your own name to the bottom of the list. Then, the instructions call for you to mail or email copies of the letter to a certain number of other people, along with the directions of how they should continue the chain. The theory behind chain letters is that by the time your name gets to the top of the list, so many people will be involved that youll be inundated with whatever the chain promises to deliver. One recently circulated email chain letter promised earnings of $50,000 or more within in the next 90 days of sending email.

The Cold Hard Truth

Chain letters are scams and most of them are illegal. A similar scheme, many MLM’s (multi level marketing) opportunities, also known as pyramid schemes, claim to offer consumers a way to get rich quick. Usually the model is you sell a product, refer people, and make profits off of your referrals sales. The lack of contact information is usually a giveaway to an offers illegitimacy. Never reply, even to unsubscribe, because they usually use this as a confirmation of your email and turn around and email you again.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Whether you receive a chain letter by regular mail or email - especially one that involves money - SOHO Jobs reminds you that: Chain letters that involve money and promise big returns are illegal. If you start one or send one on, you could be breaking the law. Chances are you will receive no money back on your investment. Despite the claims, a chain letter will never make you rich. Some chain letters try to win your confidence by claiming that theyre legal, and even that theyre endorsed by the government. Nothing is further from the truth.

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