Do these chain letters really work?

Question

Someone keeps posting this on yahoo answers, + the fact that I received one in the mail. Please tell me if you have tried this...is it true that such chain letters have premiered on Oprah?

Here's an example:


If you could use some extra cash, then you MUST read on. THIS REALLY WORKS
if you follow the simple instructions and risk 5 measly dollars!!
Follow the directions below and in two weeks you'll have up to
$20000.00 in your PayPal account. There is a very high rate of
participation in the program because of its low investment and high
rate of return. Just $5.00 to one person!

THAT'S ALL !!!


If you are a skeptic and don't think the program will work, I urge
you to give it a try anyway! It REALLY WORKS!
LOOK AT IT THIS WAY: If the Program is a total failure for you and you
never get even $1.00 in return, your total loss will
be the $5.00! If you are not yet a paypal member, there is no risk at
all!!! If the Program is only moderately successful for
you, your PayPal account will have several hundred dollars deposited
into it within the next few days! If you actively
participate in the Program, you could have up to $20,000.00 in your
PayPal account within two weeks!
Now let me tell you the simple details.
Getting Started!!
If you're not already a user of PayPal, the very first thing you need
to do is go to PayPal and sign up. It takes two minutes
and Pay Pal will deposit $5.00 in your account just for becoming a
member. That makes this program's total cost $0!!! Follow
this link to open your PayPal account:
1. https://www.paypal.com
Now log into your PayPal account, and send the PayPal account of the
person listed in Position 1 $5.00 PayPal will ask you to
select type. (Select "service" and put "$5.00 donation" for
subject.) When person in Position 1 receives notification of your
payment, you can simply copy this page and change the names in
position #1; #2; #3 as instructed. Remember, only the person
in Position 1 on the list gets your $5.00 donation. Send them a
donation then remove #1PayPal account from the list. Move the
other two accounts up and; add your Paypal account to #3 position. After
you have retyped the names in the new order,
IMMEDIATELY send the revised message to as many people as possible.
PROMOTE! PROMOTE! The more you promote the Program, the
more you will receive in donations!! That's all there is to it.
When your name reaches Position 1 (usually in less than a week) it
will be your turn to receive the cash. $5.00 will be sent
to your PayPal account by people just like you who are willing to send

$5.00 donation and receive up to $20,000 in less than
two weeks. Because there are only (3) names on the list you can
anticipate 80% of your cash within two weeks.
Imagine if you sent it to 100 or even more. Most people spend more than $5
on the
lottery every week with no real hope of ever winning.
THIS PROGRAM WORKS - JUST TRY IT

POSITION # 1 [e-mail]
POSITION # 2 [e-mail]
POSITION # 3 [e-mail]
Integrity and honesty make this plan work.
Participants who actively promote this program will average between $8000
and
$12000 and receive the donations within two weeks.
This is not a chain letter. You are simply making a donation of $5.00
to another person. The Program does not violate title
18 section 1302 of the Postal and lottery code.
Remember -TIME is of the essence. YOU can choose to live
Paycheck-to-Paycheck or live FREE from FINANCIAL BONDAGE. Become a
part of the donation program and help people help people

Answer 1

No - and it is illegal as well - federal statute

They never aired that these were legit on Oprah - she wouldn't put her millions on the line for a felonious scam.

And it does violate the statute it claims it doesn't - there have been dozens of successfully won cases applying this to email scams.

TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 61 > § 1302
Mailing lottery tickets or related matter

Whoever knowingly deposits in the mail, or sends or delivers by mail:

Any letter, package, postal card, or circular concerning any lottery, gift enterprise, or similar scheme offering prizes dependent in whole or in part upon lot or chance;

Any lottery ticket or part thereof, or paper, certificate, or instrument purporting to be or to represent a ticket, chance, share, or interest in or dependent upon the event of a lottery, gift enterprise, or similar scheme offering prizes dependent in whole or in part upon lot or chance;

Any check, draft, bill, money, postal note, or money order, for the purchase of any ticket or part thereof, or of any share or chance in any such lottery, gift enterprise, or scheme;

Any newspaper, circular, pamphlet, or publication of any kind containing any advertisement of any lottery, gift enterprise, or scheme of any kind offering prizes dependent in whole or in part upon lot or chance, or containing any list of the prizes drawn or awarded by means of any such lottery, gift enterprise, or scheme, whether said list contains any part or all of such prizes;

Any article described in section 1953 of this title—

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both; and for any subsequent offense shall be imprisoned not more than five years.

Answer 2

Yes, I have received it. I am single, and I was worried if I tried to ship my boyfriend off, I might end up with my ex husband or something worse. The grass isn't always greener. LOL

Answer 3

I hate those letters, and if you check with your local post office you will find they are acually illegal.
The problem with it is that it might ber a good concept but if you enclose $1.00 in one million envelopes, how many of those envelopes do you think would send you $2.00 back?
I wish they would work we would all be rich!

Answer 4

if chain letters worked, at least 15 different things would have killed me by now, i'd be single till i was at least 150, and i'd probably be the opposite gender and poor

Answer 5

This is the classic Ponzi scheme. They are illegal.

Answer 6

no they dont work iv'e tried if they did work everybody would be talking about them.