Please, No More "Make Money Fast"

Hello,

My name is Carl Winslow. I'm from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Why might you care? Well, if you are an e-mail or Usenet user, you've almost certainly seen the following paragraph in an unsolicited e-mail or "spammed" Usenet posting:

This is the only realistic money-making offer I've ever received. I participated because this plan truly makes sense. I was surprised when the $5.00 bills started filling my mail box. By the time it tapered off I had received over 8,000 orders with over $40,000 in cash. Dozens of people have sent warm personal notes too, sharing the news of their good fortunes! It's been WONDERFUL.

Carl Winslow Tulsa, OK

First, I want to make one thing absolutely clear:

There may be another Carl Winslow of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who wrote that "testimonial", but it was not me! In fact, the "Carl Winslow" of these "testimonials" is probably a reference to a fictional character.

"Make Money Fast" (often abbreviated MMF) schemes are nothing more than the classic chain-letter pyramid scheme given new electronic life on the Internet. Make no mistake, these schemes are illegal! Federal law in the United States, the laws of all 50 of the United States, and the laws of most countries outlaw these pyramid schemes as illegal lotteries. In the United States, the penalties include fines, imprisonment, and possible civil liability.

Even if MMF schemes were legal, they are a notoriously bad investment. If any money is made at all, it is made strictly by the people at the very top of the pyramid. In fact, for all participants to make the amount of money claimed, often in excess of $50,000 US, it would require the participation of more than the total number of people on earth.

Follow some of the links I have included below for more information about "Make Money Fast" schemes:

• Make Money Fast Hall of Humiliation (Formerly run by the famous "Rolf"; now run by "Sisyphus6".) Motto: "Putting an end to online scammers . . . or at least laughing at them mercilessly!" (In the spirit of giving equal time to opposing viewpoints, check out the Anti-Rolf Page.)
• U.S. Postal Service statement on chain letters
• Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which has jurisdiction over cases of online consumer fraud. Of special interest:
• Promoter of Online Pyramid Scheme Agrees to Settle FTC Charges -- yes, people do get caught!
• FTC Unveils "Dirty Dozen Spam Scams" -- MMF isn't the only thing the FTC is watching. Here are the top 12 spam scams according to FTC's own statistics.
• A real attorney's opinion on pyramid schemes. Many purveyors of MMF claim to have consulted an attorney, but invariably those "attorneys" do not have an address and telephone number, like this one does.
• MLM Now! Hall Of Shame (Compares and contrasts legal and illegal schemes)
• Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail (CAUCE), an organization which combats unsolicited commercial e-mail (aka UCE or "spam"). While CAUCE is not specific to MMF schemes, MMF is a common topic of e-mail spams, so the CAUCE site is quite relevant. While you're there, read up on the U.S. legislative efforts to regulate spam. In particular, be sure to check out H.R. 1748, "The Netizens Protection Act of 1997". If you are a U.S. citizen, make your opinion on spam and MMF known to your representatives in Congress.
• The Forum for Responsible and Ethical Email (F.R.E.E.), an organization whose mission is to stop the practice of sending unsolicited boilerplate broadcast messages through e-mail.
• The Anti-spam Campaign, a very comprehensive anti-spam resource site.
• By request of its author, a link to the Sucker List, in which the author has compiled a list of known MMF perpetrators. Be sure to read the rules before accessing this list.

Information about Tulsa and Oklahoma (For example, did you know that not one frame of the classic 1940 film The Grapes of Wrath was shot in Oklahoma? Oklahoma looked too nice.):

• Yahoo! Local for Tulsa.
• Tulsa World, our daily newspaper.
• Our congressman, The Honorable Steve Largent (O.K., so a small part of the city is represented by The Honorable Brad Carson, but only a few precincts). Rep. Largent sits on the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, & Consumer Protection, which has jurisdiction over online commerce (and online fraud) legislation. (Hint: If you don't like MMF schemes on the Internet, Rep. Largent and the other members of this committee need to hear from you.)

The author is delighted that people have come through here, already. Thanks!

Email: cbw@despammed.com

If you are looking to sign my guestbook, you are too late. I had warned posters before about putting in ads for "Get paid to surf", and the like, but no one paid any heed. Now, someone has finally posted a lengthy MMF in my guestbook. I don't have time to police this guestbook every day, so instead I'm shutting it down. For those of you who may have enjoyed using my guestbook, I apologize. For those of you who had been abusing my guestbook, take your tripe somewhere else!

-- Carl

P.S. I'm not this Carl Winslow, either.

"Go ahead, make Steve Urkel's day."

Opposing pro-spam legislation
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