Dog knows that there is a billion of them, but I just got this email from my sister-in-law.
I warned her that it is almost certainly a scam but I figured that I would post it here as a warning.
Feel free to post other warning/scams that may find their way into your inbox.
Of course, edit out the personal stuff first. :)

BTW the blurb at the end (after Charles gives his seal of approval) is part of the original email and not my sister-in-law's endorsement!


>
> This was on the 9:00 o'clock news the other night and this works
> THIS TOOK TWO PAGES OF THE TUESDAY USA TODAY - IT IS FOR REAL
>
> PLEEEEEEASE READ!!!! it was on the news!
>
> This thing is for real. Rest assured AOL and Intel will follow through
> with their promises for fear of facing a multimillion-dollar class
> action suit similar to the one filed by PepsiCo against General Electric
> not too long ago.
>
> Dear Friends; Please do not take this for a junk letter. Bill Gates
> sharing his fortune. If you ignore this, You will repent later.
> Microsoft and AOL are now the largest Internet companies and in an
> effort to make sure that Internet Explorer remains the most widely used
> program, Microsoft and AOL are running an e-mail beta test.
>
> When you forward this e-mail to friends, Microsoft can and will track it
> (If you are a Microsoft Windows user)? For a two weeks time period.
>
> For every person that you forward this e-mail to, Microsoft will pay you
> $245.00. For every person that you sent it to that forwards it on,
> Microsoft will pay you $243.00 and ! for every third person that
> receives it, You will be paid $241.00. Within two weeks, Microsoft will
> contact you for your address and then send you a cheque.
>
> Regards
>
> Charles S Bailey General Manager Field Operations
> 1-800-842-2332
> Ext. 1085 or 904-1085 or RNX
> 292-1085
>
> I thought this was a scam myself, But two weeks after receiving this
> e-mail and forwarding it on. Microsoft contacted me for my address and
> within days, I receive a check for $24, 800.00. You need to respond
> before the beta testing is over. If anyone can afford this, Bill gates
> is the man.
>
> It's all marketing expense to him. Please forward this to as many
> people as possible. You are bound to get at least $10, 000.00. We're not
> going to help them out with their e-mail beta t est without getting a
> little something for our time. My brother's girlfriend got in on this a
> few months ago. When I went to visit him for the Baylor /UT game. She
> showed me her cheque. It was for the sum of $4, 324.44 and was stamped
> 'Paid in full'
>
> Like I said before, I know the law, and this is for real.
>
> Intel and AOL are now discussing a merger which would make them the
> largest Internet company and in an effort make sure that AOL remains
> the most widely used program, Intel and AOL are running an e-mail beta
> test.
>
> When you forward this e-mail to friends, Intel can and will track it (
> if you are a Microsoft Windows user) for a two week time period.
>
> Try it; What have you got to lose!
>

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Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas.

Albert Einstein

Kenzie this is definitely a scam. I have seen this before. it was about 2 years ago. and why would Microsoft pay you to use something that they charge you for?

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What you do today you will have to live with tonight

As it is tax season in the USA right now, please do not click on anything "that promises a refund from the IRS". It is a scam, the only thing you should get in your inbox are tax law updates via weekly e-mails, if you signed up for them.

I had one in my junk mail file today.

I firmly believe, my fellow Setizens will not fall for this, yet please look out for your family, friends and neighbors.

---

Pluto will always be a planet to me.

Seti Ambassador
Not to late to order an Anni Shirt

As it is tax season in the USA right now, please do not click on anything "that promises a refund from the IRS". It is a scam, the only thing you should get in your inbox are tax law updates via weekly e-mails, if you signed up for them.

I had one in my junk mail file today.

I firmly believe, my fellow Setizens will not fall for this, yet please look out for your family, friends and neighbors.

I sure wouldn't, But My income isn't taxable and MS just laid off 5000 people, So why would they pay somebody to email somebody else when they could do It for FREE if they thought It was legal and ok to do(Lawyers).

The guy who started this is just getting people to do this using their email addresses so that the emails can't be easily traced back to Him and for Free too, Smells like a scam to Me. The Sister ought to call the police and get them to find the person so He can be Deep Sixed in a prison somewhere.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Dog knows that there is a billion of them, but I just got this email from my sister-in-law.
I warned her that it is almost certainly a scam but I figured that I would post it here as a warning.
Feel free to post other warning/scams that may find their way into your inbox.
Of course, edit out the personal stuff first. :)

BTW the blurb at the end (after Charles gives his seal of approval) is part of the original email and not my sister-in-law's endorsement!

<scam E-Mail body removed>

One of the key ways to spot one of these is by the dates:

There aren't any dates. It says "Tuesday's USA Today had two pages" but which Tuesday?

A scam never includes the date because if it was dated March 11th, 2005 it would be very stale in 2009, but there is always a "Last Tuesday."

It always cites some authorities, like AOL or Intel, and there is always some "call to action."

I think this particular (Bill Gates E-Mail "beta test") scam is more than a decade old.

---

I am going to send a link to this thread to Nancy (my sister in law) but would like to hear of other email scam warnings as well.

---

Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas.

Albert Einstein

I am going to send a link to this thread to Nancy (my sister in law) but would like to hear of other email scam warnings as well.

Another, extremely popular email scam is what is known as the Nigerian 419 scam.

These emails always claim that they are happy to have found you; they want you to help them obtain funds out of an account but they need your account information to do this, and they'll pay you 25% to help them by giving them your checking account routing number. They often mention God a lot, because statistically speaking it has been found that the more an email (or regular junk mail) mention God, the more likely the person is to be less skeptical of the sender (the logic is: they are God fearing, so they won't try to rip me off).

Most typically, it is someone wealthy that has supposedly died and left a small fortune in a bank as inheritance, but the bank won't release it unless they are paid a sum of money to release the funds, which is why they need your help and your bank account number.

These types of scams are aggressive, and the scammer is often willing or insistent on contacting you or even meeting you! These are run by professional con men who are good at what they do, and are often even better when they can talk face to face (at least to a person who is not using their skeptical brain receptors).

By the end of the scam, the person is left broke and often without any legal recourse if the perpetrator is overseas without extradition laws. There is, of course, an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to the subject and lots of details on what to look out for. Unfortunately, my father almost fell for this exact scam if I had not happened to be routinely checking his computer for malware.

---

Kenzie this is definitely a scam. I have seen this before. it was about 2 years ago. and why would Microsoft pay you to use something that they charge you for?

This or a similar hoax has been running around the internet for at least 10 years.

---

BOINC WIKI

Kenzie this is definitely a scam. I have seen this before. it was about 2 years ago. and why would Microsoft pay you to use something that they charge you for?

This or a similar hoax has been running around the internet for at least 10 years.

Agreed. I've seen the same email (worded differently, of course) back in 1997.

---

"It was for the sum of $4,324.44 and was stamped
> 'Paid in full' "
just how do you get such an odd figure by multiplying $245.00?

its not a scam, its just chain mail junk, this was around back in 2004, BG would be a pouper by now

Ever think (or even suspect) that most (if not all) of these scams are the terrorists' way of obtaining money to finance their operations?

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The one that I am often asked about is what I call the Lottery scam. You will get an email that says you won the Spanish, or English, or French, or etc lottery. It’s always for millions of dollars (even when the country does not use dollars.) When someone asks me if this could be for real, I always ask them when they last brought a Spanish, English, etc lottery ticket. California has an interesting slogan “You can’t win if you don’t play.” Remember that if you get an email about your winning. It’s a scam.

What I really don't understand.....

All of these scams and hoaxes are so very transparent if you look at them with a critical eye. They don't make sense.

In ancient times, the Greeks took the City of Troy by showing up at the gates with something that wasn't exactly what it seemed to be.

... and today, we still have a strong tendency to say "hey, look at the pretty horse" and not look any deeper.

---

What I really don't understand.....

All of these scams and hoaxes are so very transparent if you look at them with a critical eye. They don't make sense.

In ancient times, the Greeks took the City of Troy by showing up at the gates with something that wasn't exactly what it seemed to be.

... and today, we still have a strong tendency to say "hey, look at the pretty horse" and not look any deeper.

It is all about scale. An email like this could end up in several million email accounts. If only one tenth of one percent get suckered, that is still hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Plus, simply by forwarding it you prove your email as valid and can expect plenty more spam in the future.

---

Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas.

Albert Einstein

What I really don't understand.....

All of these scams and hoaxes are so very transparent if you look at them with a critical eye. They don't make sense.

In ancient times, the Greeks took the City of Troy by showing up at the gates with something that wasn't exactly what it seemed to be.

... and today, we still have a strong tendency to say "hey, look at the pretty horse" and not look any deeper.

It is all about scale. An email like this could end up in several million email accounts. If only one tenth of one percent get suckered, that is still hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Plus, simply by forwarding it you prove your email as valid and can expect plenty more spam in the future.

Bingo!!! We have a winner!!!

I have a few 'throwaway' email accounts that get hundreds of these. Another one is the 'You have won a [insert name of major retailer here] gift card' scam. You end up having to buy or subscribe to something(s) that you have to pay for, and end up spending more than the card is worth. I got suckered into one of these about 3 years ago, but ended up spending less than the iPod was worth (about $100), and DID get the iPod, but only after much hassle. Guess I learned my lesson...

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Clk2HlpSetiCty:::PayIt4ward

What I really don't understand.....

All of these scams and hoaxes are so very transparent if you look at them with a critical eye. They don't make sense.

In ancient times, the Greeks took the City of Troy by showing up at the gates with something that wasn't exactly what it seemed to be.

... and today, we still have a strong tendency to say "hey, look at the pretty horse" and not look any deeper.

It is all about scale. An email like this could end up in several million email accounts. If only one tenth of one percent get suckered, that is still hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Plus, simply by forwarding it you prove your email as valid and can expect plenty more spam in the future.

Oh, it's definitely a numbers game. It just seems to me that there is no reason for something so mind-bogglingly obvious to slip past anyone.

Unless they just aren't thinking.

---

What I really don't understand.....

All of these scams and hoaxes are so very transparent if you look at them with a critical eye. They don't make sense.

In ancient times, the Greeks took the City of Troy by showing up at the gates with something that wasn't exactly what it seemed to be.

... and today, we still have a strong tendency to say "hey, look at the pretty horse" and not look any deeper.

It is all about scale. An email like this could end up in several million email accounts. If only one tenth of one percent get suckered, that is still hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Plus, simply by forwarding it you prove your email as valid and can expect plenty more spam in the future.

Oh, it's definitely a numbers game. It just seems to me that there is no reason for something so mind-bogglingly obvious to slip past anyone.

Unless they just aren't thinking.

A few people are incapable of critical thinking as in "there is a sucker born every minute."

---

BOINC WIKI

What I really don't understand.....

All of these scams and hoaxes are so very transparent if you look at them with a critical eye. They don't make sense.

In ancient times, the Greeks took the City of Troy by showing up at the gates with something that wasn't exactly what it seemed to be.

... and today, we still have a strong tendency to say "hey, look at the pretty horse" and not look any deeper.

It is all about scale. An email like this could end up in several million email accounts. If only one tenth of one percent get suckered, that is still hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Plus, simply by forwarding it you prove your email as valid and can expect plenty more spam in the future.

Oh, it's definitely a numbers game. It just seems to me that there is no reason for something so mind-bogglingly obvious to slip past anyone.

Unless they just aren't thinking.

A few people are incapable of critical thinking as in "there is a sucker born every minute."

There are a lot of easy targets out there. People with diminished mental capacity, older folks, just plain greedy people who only see the 10 000$ payday. . . As you say, one born every minute. :(

---

Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas.

Albert Einstein

What I really don't understand.....

All of these scams and hoaxes are so very transparent if you look at them with a critical eye. They don't make sense.

In ancient times, the Greeks took the City of Troy by showing up at the gates with something that wasn't exactly what it seemed to be.

... and today, we still have a strong tendency to say "hey, look at the pretty horse" and not look any deeper.

It is all about scale. An email like this could end up in several million email accounts. If only one tenth of one percent get suckered, that is still hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Plus, simply by forwarding it you prove your email as valid and can expect plenty more spam in the future.

Oh, it's definitely a numbers game. It just seems to me that there is no reason for something so mind-bogglingly obvious to slip past anyone.

Unless they just aren't thinking.

A few people are incapable of critical thinking as in "there is a sucker born every minute."

There are a lot of easy targets out there. People with diminished mental capacity, older folks, just plain greedy people who only see the 10 000$ payday. . . As you say, one born every minute. :(

Oh come on......really? I just opened my snail mail and got this message that I could be a winner.........LOL......
The game has not changed, only the means of delivery.

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Whenever I get that one I always point the person who forwarded it to this page..

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/nothing/microsoft-aol.asp

Snopes is a good place to check up on these scams.

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