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The Top 9 E-Mail Hoaxes
Income
taxes are optional, Neiman Marcus has an expensive cookie recipe and more
financial fictions that crowd in-boxes. These e-mail hoaxes are designed
for one thing: to drain your wallet.
By
Amy C. Fleitas, Bankrate.com (As seen on MSN.Com)
Ever wondered if anyone makes the money promised in those work-at-home
advertisements? Or if each forwarded e-mail will really mean a donation of
10 cents from Microsoft to an orphan's organ-transplant operation? The
answer is no. These stories are urban legends, e-mail rumors and scams.
They are but a few of what we like to call financial fiction. The
following are some of the most popular and most creative examples waiting
in in-boxes.
Neiman Marcus' Expensive Cookie Recipe
Here's what happened. My Aunt Cynthia was having lunch at Neiman Marcus
with my cousin. For dessert, they had these delicious cookies and my aunt
asked the waitress for the recipe. The waitress said they the recipe sold
for "two fifty." My Aunt thought that meant $2.50 said OK. But
when she got her bill they charged her $250. She was furious but they
wouldn't refund her money. So in revenge, she's giving away the recipe to
anyone who wants it.
Can you believe that? You can? Sucker. It never happened. But this rumor
has been circulating for decades. A similar story about a $25 red velvet
cake recipe has been traced as far back as the 1940s. If you want the
cookie recipe, Neiman Marcus has gotten so sick of the bad press about
this false rumor that the company posted the recipe on its Web site.
Forwarded E-Mail For Money Or Donations
Microsoft and Disney are both beta-testing an e-mail tracker and will
send you money if you forward this e-mail. The Gap is testing an e-mail
tracker and will send you a gift certificate. The Red Cross is using its
e-mail tracker and will donate money for some poor kid's operation or to
raise funds for an orphan of Sept. 11.
If you believe any of these stories, I have some bad news for you. There
is no such thing as an e-mail tracker. Coke won't send you free cans.
Gerber won't send you savings bonds. Cracker Barrel won't send you gift
certificates. A Britney Spears' video won't pop up as the result of you
forwarding an e-mail. And AOL has a public relations department that gets
news out a lot more efficiently than any chain mail ever could. You get
nothing but the embarrassment of knowing that everyone you forward this
e-mail to will think you're a fool.
Nigerian Scam Letter
Greetings, sir. I got your e-mail address from a very confidential source
-- the Internet. I am the prince, minister and Grand Poo-ba of one of many
foreign nations that you stupid Americans have never heard of. There is a
billion, kazillion dollars in an account here that rightfully belongs to
my family and my people. Due to some horrid-bloody military coup in which
my entire family, several accountants and various goats lost their lives,
I cannot reach this money. But you, an American who has never heard of my
country, can march right into the corner branch of
God-Forsaken-War-Torn-East-of-Nowhere-Africa and deposit this money right
into your fat American bank account. For your trouble, I'll give you a few
million off the top -- because what's a few million between confidential
best friends who have never actually even heard of one another?
OK, let's start from the top. Do not kid yourself. You are not so
important that the High Priest of Anywhere will e-mail you requesting
help. Rid yourself of your delusions of grandeur -- or as we say back
home, you may sing "Like a Virgin" into your hairbrush every
night, but that doesn't make you Madonna.
Here's what will happen when you give strangers your bank account
information: They will take your money. Period. End of story. You get
nothing, but you lose a lot.
Work At Home
Old scam, new format. You should immediately run from anyone who promises
lots of money for little work that requires no experience. While there are
companies that allow their employees to work from home, they require job
skills and interviews, just like regular jobs. Work-at-home scams will ask
you to purchase supplies and equipment from them to perform the
"job." That's how they make their money. You will lose -- not
make -- money.
You Won! And You Didn't Even Enter!
How can you take anything seriously that uses so many exclamation
marks?!!!!! Guess what!!!!! You didn't win anything!!!! These people will
try to finagle money out of you by saying you need to pay taxes or fees to
collect your prize!!!!! Or they will give you a free trip that requires
you to buy very expensive airline tickets through their agency!!!! Don't
be a sucker!!!!!
You'll Receive $5,000 For Sending $25
Here's how it works. Send $5 to the five people on the list or to the
address that will send you the "reports." In return for your
money you'll get -- nothing -- because this is a scam. Well, maybe you'll
get something -- a conviction for mail fraud because this is illegal.
Tricking The
Traffic Court
The Web-watching site Truthorfiction.com reports that a rumor is
currently circling e-mails accounts claiming that there's a sneaky way to
keep a traffic ticket off your driving record: pay a little more than the
amount on the ticket. The court will send you a refund check. If you don't
cash the check, the computer won't mark your case as closed and the ticket
will never show up on your record. This idea is great in theory, lousy in
reality. It doesn't work. Here's a way to keep tickets off your record
that does work: slow down.
Tax Or Long-Distance Charges On E-Mail
You got a forwarded e-mail from your friend that says you will soon be
charged for your long-distance e-mails, just like you are charged for
long-distance phone calls. Oh, really? And what will the phone company use
to compute your bill -- its e-mail tracker? Calm down. No one is going to
charge you long distance for your e-mails. This is an e-mail myth.
Clinton Got Rid Of The IRS -- No More Taxes
That sneaky Bill Clinton -- did you know that when he wasn't gallivanting
about with interns he was busy getting Congress to pass secret legislation
that would forgive all debts and abolish the Internal Revenue Service?
Alan Greenspan was going to announce it on Sept. 11, 2001 but didn't
because of the terrorist attacks. Oh, wishful thinking -- or maybe not. A
move like that is the equivalent of tossing what's left of our economy
into a vast financial toilet and flushing with the combined might of the
National Football League. In the plausible department, this rumor,
reported by Truthorfiction.com, is right up there with alien cattle
mutilations and Cameron Diaz spending a Friday night alone at home, eating
Ben & Jerry's because she couldn't get a date -- completely
ridiculous.
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- Tip of the Week - Monday, April 26, 2004
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