Earning Money

I got a funny scam in the mail today and I thought that I would mention it to you all. Think about writing about it on your blog so that people know not to trust it if it does get spread around. Now, it is funny that I got this in the mail, but it also makes me wonder…How did I get it in the mail? Other than my friend who is like a brother who lives in Brooklyn, I know no one else there. So, it made me wonder…Alas, I decided I’d break the scam apart for you so that you could see why it is a scam and you can learn for future reference why you don’t want to trust this rubbish. So, let’s take a look at it.

The header of the letter says, “Make $250,000 in weeks as seen on Oprah & 20/20.” So, immediately, you can see that they are trying to bait you in by mentioning Oprah and 20/20. Both are respectable shows and both really are highly watched. So, some uneducated person might say, “Well cool! If they say it’ll work, it must work!” And bam, they get to work. Then it says, “Proven by Various, highly-respected U.S. TV and Radio programs as being 100% legal, feasible, and true.” Alright, so now it is legal! Awesome! Yet…It is the final sentence that really shuts the door (despite the fact I just laughed after reading the Oprah and 20/20 part). It says, “I came across an article similar to this that said you could make thousands of dollars within weeks with only an initial investment of $6.00.” Hmm…So I have to spend money…

I turn the page and there is this sop story about how this guy was so poor, he lost his house, lost his car, lost everything! The thing that jumps out to me is that he mentions September 2001. That’s 9/11…The World Trade Center bombings. Now, this is important because psychologically, our minds know what it is, but we may not pick up on it. But, since we understand what happened in New York City at that time, we feel pity almost and can almost say, “maybe this guy is telling us the truth.” He goes on to say how after receiving this same letter, he was able to go on a cruise by January and in February, he paid for a brand new Cadillac with cash. And now he is building a second home.

So…How does it work? You get a list of six names when you get the letter. You send $1.00 to EACH of those six names. Then you remove the number one spot and put your name in the number six spot. You then print it out and mail it to every person you can think of. He even mentions that you can get people’s addresses from DATALINE. Just spend $40.00 (oh boy, more money) and you can get these people. You send them out and then he says that you will get $800,000 in cash within 20-90 days. Wow…800K, huh? That’s amazing, isn’t it? WRONG!

He then goes on to say with the next page that it is perfectly legal and he even has a lawyer, or so he says, include a letter so they know it is perfectly legal. Sounds great, huh? Sure…Now let me explain why this is a scam. You have to send six dollars to other people. And then you have to spend money to get people to send money to you. Basically, you’re expecting others to send money to you. He says it’s not a pyramid scheme, but it works JUST like a pyramid scheme. If you remember my post about scams, you’ll remember that I say not to trust the schemes. Basically, the guy on top will always make more than the person on the bottom. And if this continues to spread, there are less and less people to do it.

Look…This is a joke in my opinion. Why bother wasting your time on this? You are college students and rather than wasting $6.00 and then $40.00 and then all of those stamps, just get a job or use the other tips I mention on this blog. Don’t fall into this little pyramid schemes. The fact he says it is not a pyramid scheme is his way of trying to deflect you away from it. Don’t believe it. This is a pyramid scheme. He is looking for you to give money to him and then expect to get money from other people. Don’t fall into this trap…You’ll be disappointed when you make no money if you do fall into the trap.

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