Email Hoaxes May Have You Fooled

In this latest article, I'm going to talk about email hoaxespretty believable. After all, Bill Gates is one of the
that get sent around like old fashioned chain letters.richest people in the world.
I recently got an email from a client who forwarded aBut if those people each sent it to 10 more people, that
message on to me and I don't know how many otherwould be 100 more people Bill would have to pay $245
people. The subject was:for. So now the total is something like $245,000. But
"Fwd: PLEEEEEEASE REEEEEAD! IT WAS ONhey, Bill can still afford that!
GOOD MORNING AMERICA TODAYSHOW"But if those 100 people then sent it on to another 10
In the message it talked about how Bill Gates waspeople each. That's another 1,000 new people Bill
testing out a new "email tracking program" and that hewould have to shell out $245 each for. So suddenly
wanted you to forward the message on to as manythe total is (I think -- this is a lot of zeros and my
people as you could, supposedly to keep people fromcalculator is starting to smoke) $245,000,000! Even Bill
switching away from using Internet Explorer (which is aGates would have to think about it before writing a
very good idea by the way -- and is something I talkcheck that big, at least when he's not really getting
about on my special report "5 Common Computeranything out of it.
Mistakes and How to Avoid Making Them Yourself" --And if that 1,000 people each sent it to another ten,
but how forwarding the email to a bunch of peoplewell, the number is too big to fit on my calculator's
would stop people from doing this is beyond me).screen. And it's more money than even Bill Gates has,
In exchange for forwarding the email, Bill wouldand we all know he's a billionaire!
supposedly send you up to $245 for every personSo applying a little common sense to these things can
you sent it to, and even pay you for the people that itgo a long way to keep you from getting fooled. Of
got sent to after that!course, there's no real risk in the Bill Gates hoax, or
It sounds nice, and the email throws around a lot ofany of the dozens of variations that have floated
important sounding names like Bill Gates & Microsoft,around the Internet since 1997 when a bored college
AOL, and others, and talks about how "my brother'sstudent dreamed up the original.
girlfriend" got a check, and other details that are thereBut the same tactics are used by scammers out to
to help convince people.get your money, like the Nigerian 419 scams or phishing
But of course, it's all a big hoax.scams, which have cost a lot of people a hell of a lot
If you sit down with a calculator, it's pretty easy toof money. Those scams come through email too, and
figure it out. Let's say you forward the email to 10are a lot worse than the harmless prank I just told you
people. That'd give you $2,450. So far, that soundsabout.