This is one of the all time classic scams. But the thing I love most about this one is how it got started, which was basically off of a bold faced lie.
On a particular Oprah show, they talked about scams. One of the scams that they exposed was about the boy who actually came up with this idea. He was ultimately found out when his parents discovered his bedroom closet stuffed with money. His parents had absolutely no idea that he was doing this, but hey, give this kid credit! He sure figured out how to con people out of their money. The point is, the scam says that this "way to make money" was on Oprah.
Well, what they don't say is that is was Oprah who reported the Scam as a Non-Legitimate way to make money. As a result, people think Oprah actually endorsed this whole thing. I can only imagine how she feels about it.
Anyway, this is how the scam plays out. You send out this really long letter of instructions to everybody you know. Many people are also encouraged to post this on forums and free online classified ad sites. I have seen it splattered all over the internet. Especially on websites like Craigs List and UsFreeAds. No matter where you come across this letter, the instructions are generally the same and are as follows:
You'll find in this letter a list of 5 names. What you have to do is send $5 to the person at the top of the list, move everybody else on the list up one spot and then put your name at the bottom of the list. They tell you not to cheat and put your name on the top. Like people won't do that!
The premise behind this whole thing is that eventually your name will get to the top of the list and you will start getting all these $5 payments deposited in your payPal account from all sorts of people. Well, the number of problems with this whole whacked out system are too numerous to go into here, but we will touch on the main points.
For starters, PayPal knows all about this little Online Money Scam and they do not endorse it or allow it. Perhaps you have even seen some rather legitimate looking information indicating the contrary. But the reality is, if Paypal catches you receiving $5 payments from these letters they will not only close your account but they will freeze all your money in it. If they find the money was obtained illegally, they will make it so that you never get it. This alone should be enough reason to never do this.
But, if that isn't reason enough, the US Federal Government has also declared that these chain letters are illegal and anybody participating in these chain letters is subject to fine or imprisonment or both. So I don't think you want to mess with the Federal Government.
And finally, there is simply the fact that these things don't work. People don't play by the rules. Most people will simply not pay the top name, remove it and place their name at the top of the list. Ultimately what happens is that nobody makes any money.
Do yourself a favor. Oprah wants nothing to do with this, doesn't endorse it and you will not make any money from it. And if that isn't enough to deter you from doing this, think about the possible jail time that could be waiting for you.
The Oprah Make Money Chain Letter Will Put You in Chains!
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