aree chain letter illegal?
like if someone send you a message saying send me a dollar then send this message to like five of your friends is it illegal
2006-12-10 12:48:06 · 9 answers · asked by LIL Shady 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
All Chain Letters are Illegal.
Some say they have checked with the US Post Office and found out that this one is legal because you are buying or selling something, such as a recipe or a special report on how to do something, some even go so far as to claim to be attorneys and this program is perfectly legal.
They are not!
You will find in checking out the Federal Trade Commission and the US Postal Service Links below that the government is going after not only the promoters that start a chain letter as they have in the past but are prosecuting even the small fish that only took in a few dollars.
So unless you want a postal inspector at your door, the chance of a felony conviction, major fine and a possible jail sentence, stay away from chain letters.
Federal Trade Commission Links. http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2002/02/eileenspam1.htm http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/chainalrt.htm http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/misc/chainc%26f.htm http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/misc/chnmailflyr.htm
2006-12-10 12:55:33 · answer #1 · answered by oklatom 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Chain letters which involve money have been a Federal felony in the United States since 1935, courtesy of the Send-A-Dime scandal. Online, you can blame a college student named Dave Rhodes for inventing Internet spam with an illegal chain letter of this sort as well.
In the United Kingdom, Gambling Act 2005 calls for 51 weeks imprisonment and/0r serious fines for every incident of a chain gifting scheme. Yes, just participating makes you a criminal.
New Zealand and Canada have even harsher laws, in the Fair Trading Act and the Competition Act.
Oh, and don't even think about using Paypal, Stormpay, E-Gold, etc. for such schemes. They regularly bust people for it and freeze their funds for half a year or so.
2006-12-11 21:45:20 · answer #2 · answered by Wolfman 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If money is involved, yes.
Okay... people are confusing two issues. One is the concept of a chain letter and the other is the concept of a chain letter with multi-level marketing (aka pyramid scheme).
First, a chain letter is typically something that says, "Hey! Send this letter to ten of your friends and you'll have good luck in two days. Otherwise, you'll have one year of bad luck."
Nothing illegal about that, although you might not have any friends afterwards. I sure wouldn't be your friend.
The second thing, chain letter mixed with multi-level marketing , is illegal. You cannot involve money or other things of value with a chain letter. You will go to jail for doing that.
Please do not confuse the two.
2006-12-10 12:55:19 · answer #3 · answered by Answers is run by hippocrites 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
YES, Contact the US Postal Service and that also includes the emails on the internet.
2006-12-10 12:52:56 · answer #4 · answered by Vagabond5879 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not at all. They're just asking for money. You can deny them the money or go along with it.
2006-12-10 12:50:39 · answer #5 · answered by ...... 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
if they want money than yes
2006-12-10 12:57:07 · answer #6 · answered by nick 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
if there not they should be. if you send them any money your mad
2006-12-10 14:38:14 · answer #7 · answered by John B 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I dont think so
2006-12-10 12:56:01 · answer #8 · answered by lisaac1us 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
don't do it.
us postal service can- and will --bust people for mail fraud...........
2006-12-10 12:52:53 · answer #9 · answered by cork 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋