What’s the etiquette for replying to people, albeit dumb dumbs, who send you hoax emails like these:
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 check.
Regards.
Charles S Bailey General Manager Field Operations
1-800-842-2332 Ext. 1085 or 904-1085 or RNX
292-1085 Charles_Bailey@csx.com Charles_bailey@csx.comI 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 withindays, I receive a check for $24,800.00. You need to respond before the beta testing is over. If anyone can affoard 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 test 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 check. 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
?
Usually I just pull up a link on Snopes or About and let them know that they’re contributing to SPAM pollution by politely pointing out the idiocy of their ways. I used to email the link to everyone on the list to whom the email was forwarded, but I figured that might be publicly embarrassing to the sendee. What do you do when someone sends you this garbage? Do you just delete it, or do you try to put a stop to the ignorance?
What jumped out at me in this email were a few different things. First of all, the language in this sentence, “If you ignore this, You will repent later” seems loaded, and apocryphal. It almost gave me the heebie jeebies. What’s the intention of using the word “repent”? Weird.
Another thing that made me furrow my brow was this, “Like i said before, I know the law, and this is for real.” They never said whether or not they know the law! Why would we trust something like this? Why? Maybe lawyers have some insight. Lawyers?*
The final thing that made me question why anyone would buy this is the vague, circular language of the whole thing. Does anyone do any research anymore? Read the news? Keep themselves abreast of current events?
It’s stuff like this that makes me frustrated with people as a whole.
UPDATE: I the hallway I ran into the woman who sent me the SPAM, and apparently she’s learned her lesson. Just about everyone she sent it to told her it was a hoax. So apparently stupidity trickles upward. Or something. Whatever. Shut up.
*Upon further research I found a longer letter where they do mention that “they are an attorney and they know the law.” Still, why should you trust a stranger, even if they are a lawyer?
