Is this for real?

Q&A, advice, reviews, and news about the computers, phones, TVs, stereos, and pretty much anything else that can't be easily whittled out of a stick or chipped out of stone.
User avatar
EvilElf
Redshirt
Posts: 5056
Joined: Fri Feb 14, 2003 11:24 pm
Real Name: Daniel
Gender: Male
Location: Portland, Oregon

Is this for real?

Post by EvilElf » Fri Apr 23, 2004 3:12 am

got an E-mail that had this in it
from an E-mail wrote: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
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????
Has anyone else gotten this?
I highly dout this is true but I wanted to make sure....
Image

User avatar
Deacon
Shining Adonis
Posts: 44234
Joined: Wed Jul 30, 2003 3:00 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Lakehills, TX

Post by Deacon » Fri Apr 23, 2004 3:17 am

You've got to be shitting me. You gave this even a second glance??
The follies which a man regrets the most in his life are those which he didn't commit when he had the opportunity. - Helen Rowland, A Guide to Men, 1922

User avatar
EvilElf
Redshirt
Posts: 5056
Joined: Fri Feb 14, 2003 11:24 pm
Real Name: Daniel
Gender: Male
Location: Portland, Oregon

Post by EvilElf » Fri Apr 23, 2004 3:19 am

Well otherwise I wouldn't
First looking at it came from my dad's work(intel)
So I had to double check.
And No I didn't forward it.
Image

User avatar
T8y8
Redshirt
Posts: 961
Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2003 5:42 am
Location: Vancouver, WA
Contact:

Post by T8y8 » Fri Apr 23, 2004 5:25 am

Wow! They're STILL beta testing?!

MAN, 3 years of beta? They must be really bad at this thing then...

Yeah, I got that e-mail, AT LEAST 3 years ago...
Image

spoon
Redshirt
Posts: 1709
Joined: Fri Feb 14, 2003 12:49 pm
Location: Springfield, IL
Contact:

Post by spoon » Fri Apr 23, 2004 5:28 am

There is no way to track email.

User avatar
Thrawn
Redshirt
Posts: 557
Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2003 9:42 am
Location: New Zealand

Post by Thrawn » Fri Apr 23, 2004 9:19 am

Yeah, I got something similar last year, I'm pretty sure it wasn't the same, but from what I remember, the wording was real similar to that one.
Truth! Justice! Freedom! Reasonably priced love! And a hard boiled egg!

User avatar
NorthernComfort
Redshirt
Posts: 2762
Joined: Fri May 23, 2003 8:13 pm
Real Name: Alex
Gender: Male
Location: Brooklyn, NY

Post by NorthernComfort » Fri Apr 23, 2004 11:13 am

I got a really funny one a few days ago. It's like Prince of Nigeria on crack!
ATTN: Sir.

First, As a way of introduction, I am Mr. Sanduijav G. Head of Contracts
and New Ventures Department Petroleum Authority of Mongolia.PAM.

I am writing this letter to solicit your co-operation in order to redeem
an investment interest currently held under trust with the Petroleum Authority
of Mongolia. PAM.The said investment now valued at USD$48 million (Forty-eight
million United States Dollars), was originally purchased by one Mr. Franklin
Rowdy. and leased to the Petroleum Authority of Mongolia. PAM.Since the
maturity of this contract in September 1997,several attempts have been made
without success to contact Mr.Franklin Rowdy (who is now deceased) or any
of his close relatives to whose favour the investment cash value can be
paid. My partner Mr. Nyamdorj S.who is the Head of Finance and Accounting
Department in the Ministry, and two other colleagues Mr. Toishubai K. (Head
of Administration and Legal Department) and Mr. Amarsaihan D. (Head of Processing
and Supply Coordination Department) have initiated the process of filing
a claim for this money with the hope of having funds transfered outside
the country.

Since you have a foriegn name or can provide a foreign name as Mr. Franklin
Rowdy, my partners will file a claim for this money from the Petroleum Authority
of Mongolia. PAM, indicating that you were appointed by Mr.Franklin Rowdy
to be the beneficiary of this fund.

When the claim is approved, you as the beneficiary will be paid

the sum of $USD 48 million. The money will be paid directly to any bank

of your choice. Feel free to negotiate for the percentage of your share
in this project. You have the responsibility to ensure that our share of
the funds will be secured and kept safely pending on our arrival to your
country, you are also to assist us in the investment of our share in your
country[i.e as investment consultants to us and our funds.]

There is absolutely nothing to be worried about. Myself and colleagues here
in the Ministry have worked out modalities to ensure that all expenses during
the course of this project will be shouldered and taken care off by us.
That is to say, from start to finish in this transaction, myself and partners
will be responsible for the funding of the project. You are therefore not
expected to spend anything from your purse in this deal.

From this analysis, you can see that our proposal to have you participate
in this business is anchored on remuneration, coming after the successful
completion of this project and not before.

Please understand that over here, we have outstanding expenses to take care
of,relating to this project, for which we set out a budgetary estimate,
made up of our resources as civil servants. So I encourage you to understand
with us and give us your support in partnership for our collective gain.

I want to assure you that we are in a position to make the payment of this
claim possible, provided you can give us very strong guarantee that our
share will be well secured, and that you will not take advantageof our position.
Be assured that there is absolutely nothing to worry about in view of this
claim, it is perfectly safe with no risk involved,and it is not subject
to any inquiry, since we will be handling the claim directly on your behalf.I
do hope my proposal is acceptable to you. Please acknowledge the receipt
of this letter, so that I can provide you with more clarification about
the claim and how we intend to

make this deal beneficial to everyone involved. Please reach me via myprivate
email address sangaenet2@asia.com

And also indicate your private telephone,mobile and fax numbers for easy
communication.

Sincerely,

Mr. Sanduijav G.
"I guess I have a gift for expressing pedestrian tastes. In a way, it's kind of depressing." -Bill Watterson

User avatar
Infin8Cyn
Redshirt
Posts: 6309
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2003 10:02 pm
Real Name: James
Gender: Male
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Contact:

Post by Infin8Cyn » Fri Apr 23, 2004 3:22 pm

Yeah No....

Pranksters are at it again, though instead of potentially life-threatening Nigerian email scams disguised as money-laundering schemes, this one promises generous payments from Bill Gates, Microsoft, and AOL. All you have to do to is forward an email, sit back and collect a couple hundred bucks per email address - NOT! According to the bogus email, these corporate giants are conducted an "e-mail beta test" to ensure that "Internet Explorer remains the most widely used program." Supposedly you will be paid up to $245 per email address you forward the original to, with a pyramid schematic that continues to provide additional income each time the forwarded email is forwarded. There's even a personal note at the bottom promising "You are bound to get at least US$10,000.00." Actually, all you will get is a sore trigger finger from pressing the Forward button and quite possibly return email from conscientous friends urging you to visit the Hoax Encyclopedia before acting on info found in an email.

Though the hoax has achieved enough spread to indicate many find it believable, it is not only holding out false promises but, worse, it's not even original. Instead, the hoax is a knock-off of an older hoax known as the Bill Gates email tracking hoax. Following is the full text of the more recent hoax:

Dear Friends,
Please do not take this for a junk letter. Bill Gates is 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 week time period. For every person that you forrward 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.

Chinu!

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 received a cheque for US$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 US$10,000.00.

Remember the old adage, If it sounds too good to be true - it is. Emails promising riches are no exception. Forward them only to the nearest Recycle Bin.
Image

User avatar
grassmunk
Redshirt
Posts: 257
Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2003 12:08 pm

Re: Is this for real?

Post by grassmunk » Sat Apr 24, 2004 11:46 am

All those emails that say 'forward this off to all your friends' are no different then outlook email virii. Instead of running a program that sends the email to all your friends the email just gets the user to send the email themselves.
Don't waste your time on jealously, sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and in the end, it's only with yourself.

boran_blok
Redshirt
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2004 8:23 pm
Location: Belgium
Contact:

Re: Is this for real?

Post by boran_blok » Sat Apr 24, 2004 1:02 pm

I qualify them as viruses, only they use the human mind-dumbness security leak to propagate. too bad they're successfull at it, since patching that security leak requires a lot of effort.
no flash siggie makes me a sad boy :'(

check out my once-in-a-thousand-year-updated webpage

User avatar
TopCat
Redshirt
Posts: 3783
Joined: Wed May 21, 2003 1:34 am
Gender: Male
Contact:

Post by TopCat » Sat Apr 24, 2004 7:25 pm

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/nothing/nothing.asp

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/nothing/billgate.asp
No,
you're not going to be receiving money, merchandise, or free trips from Bill Gates (or anyone else), no matter how many people you forward this message to. Tracing all recipients of an e-mail message is not yet technically possible, and even if it were, Bill Gates certainly wouldn't be testing software that performed such tracking by blindly sending messages out to the Internet with a promise of financial reward to the recipients.
hahaha i don't come to these forums anymore :x

Millsy
Redshirt
Posts: 35
Joined: Sat Jul 12, 2003 4:50 pm
Location: Alberta Canada
Contact:

Post by Millsy » Sun Apr 25, 2004 8:02 am

:shock:



i think it's time I went to bed.. did someone actually think that was for real.. ever?
My work truck can kick your work truck's butt.

User avatar
EvilElf
Redshirt
Posts: 5056
Joined: Fri Feb 14, 2003 11:24 pm
Real Name: Daniel
Gender: Male
Location: Portland, Oregon

Post by EvilElf » Sun Apr 25, 2004 8:45 am

Last part is what I was really wondering about. :P
Cause if AOL ever merged with Intel I would kill all!
The first part I couldn't tell about from lack of sleep and a few drinks. >.>
Image

BillyBlaze
Redshirt
Posts: 2512
Joined: Thu Oct 09, 2003 4:34 pm

Post by BillyBlaze » Mon Apr 26, 2004 3:23 am

[quote="Infin8Cyn";p="324663"]
Remember the old adage, If it sounds too good to be true - it is. [/quote]

Or it just means they're phasing it out because their next generation of graphics cards are coming out.

(damns his 9800pro to hell.)

User avatar
ChronoSword
Redshirt
Posts: 2441
Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2003 8:44 am
Gender: Male
Location: Raleigh

Post by ChronoSword » Mon Apr 26, 2004 5:49 am

This type of spam mail seems to have gotten pretty popular. Especially the ones with some African "contacting" you.

Locked

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest