Email scam question awnser it for me ?

Question

I got an email form my cousin in Chile about a littel girl who has brain cancer , an for every three persons who recive the email AOL and ZDNET will donate 32 cents.

People keep telling me its a scam lol , what could they posibly scam you out of , all you have to do is forward the email ???

Am i missing something here ?

An othr people say it's spam big deal if it is (which its not) all you have to do is put int in Junk mail folder an delete it . If it isnt (it is real) all you have to do is forward it to other people.

Answer 1

This and similar e-mails are not exactly scams, but they are hoaxes. Some people just enjoy fooling others. This one started around 2000. Check out the link below to find out more about it.

For the record, AOL and ZDNET have no way of tracking how many people recieve the email. In order to do it, they would have to get return emails or send conformations on every transmission, then cross-check for multiple transmissions. It would be easier and cheaper to just pay for the child's surgery, if such were the case.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/medical/arlington.asp

Answer 2

You and some of your friends may be applying different definitions to the word, scam.

First, AOL, ZDNET, Pepsi, Coors, UNICEF, Proctor and Gambles, or anyone, is not going to pay anything to any individual just because someone passe along an email. Not gonna happen. Can you imagine, if one of these companys or organizations selected just one person to receive such a benefit? They would be swamped with requests to do the same for some other deserving individual.

It's not a scam, it is just another piece of junk mail. The issue I have with this is that it just adds more junk to the flood of spam and other useless info clogging up the internet. It may help put this into perspective by imaginining your cousin's emai as a wrapper from an eaten hamburger. You received a note from your Chilean cousin. He/she said "Hi, How are you? Hope you are well." That is the hamburger. The rest of the email is the wrapper. You can either toss it in a wastebasket (delete it) or, you can pass on this useless wrapper, much like tossing it out the window, adding to the litter problem.

One yellow wrapper does not make a pile of trash. It is the tens of thousands of pieces of trash that makes for the problem.

I get these email requsest all the time, sometimes accompanied a little poem, or cute cartoon, or inspirational story. They come from friends and family, as well as complete strangers. The moment I recognize it for what is is, I stop reading and immediately delete it. I don't pass it on. I don't even axknowledge that I have received it. For my part, it simply goes away.

I don't litter the landscape.

Answer 3

yes but.........

spam often contains viruses and adware/spyware, so you infect everyone. since it is forwarded by you, your friend opens it unsuspecting and ..... I charge $50 an hour to clean out virures and krap.

edit>> oh by the way aol and zdnet are NOT involved in this.

Answer 4

Well I recieved tons of emails like this and I fowarded them w/o doubt. I don't know if its a scam or whatsoever but if this thing's real then you aid a poor soul.. I mean fowarding e-mail is not really not really that hard right? It only take you like 2min or something..