Possible spam/virus alert

[moosmom]

I'm posting this because as a precaution to anyone who gets this email. I got this from a VERY dear friend who knows what my financial troubles are and was only trying to help.

After reading all the testimonials, I called Mr. Charles Bailey, one of the emailers and the phone number is fake and cannot be reached within my calling area (possibly out of the country??). I then called Microsoft and they confirmed that it is indeed a spam/virus created by a non-local computer programmed to attach a virus. Here's the email:

This was on the 9:00 o'clock news the other night and this works THIS
>>TOOK TWO PAGES OF THE TUESDAY USATODAY - IT IS FOR REAL Subject:
>>PLEEEEEEASE READ!!!! It was on the news! This thing is for real. Rest
>>assured AOL and Intel will follow through with their promises for fear of
>>facing a multimillion-dollar class action suit similar to the one filed by
>>PepsiCo against General Electric not too long ago. Dear Friends; Please
>>do not take this for a junk letter. Bill Gates 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 weeks
>>time period.
>>
>>
>>
>> For every person that you forward 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 check.
>>
>>
>>
>> Regards. Charles S Bailey
>>
>> General Manager Field Operations
>>
>> 1-800-842-2332 Ext. 1085 or 904-1085 or RNX
>>
>> 292-1085 [email protected]
>>
>> [email protected]
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> 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 check for $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 $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!
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Amy Schneider
>>
>> Training Registrar
>>
>> Telos/Xacta Corporation
>>
>> 19886 Ashburn Road
>>
>> Ashburn, VA 20147
>>
>> 703-724-3747 - direct
>>
>> 703-724-0853 - fax
>>
>> [email protected]

------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the old saying goes, "If it seems to be too good to be true, it probably is!!" I'll stay poor but at least I'll have my computer. If anyone does participate in this and receives $$$$$, wanna share the wealth??

[Muddy4paws]

I hate stuff like that, Its just a waste of time!

[Karen]

No one can track who you email, nor would we want them to be able to. This email-scam is as old as email itself, and does nothing but clog up the email boxes of everyone who gets it.

[Miss Z]

Ugh, how annoying.

Who would really have the time to create one of these things? Perhaps somewhere, on a remote island in a dark room, there's a little man typing away on a little computer, sending spam e-mails all over the world. Exciting job

[Jessika]

Hey, you gotta make a living somehow!! :P

No one can track who you email, nor would we want them to be able to. This email-scam is as old as email itself, and does nothing but clog up the email boxes of everyone who gets it.

Yup! I got this same one years ago. If someone is going to make a spam letter... they could at least make it a little more believable hehe

[Lady's Human]

evidently someone gave it a good revival......

I had 20+ copies of it in my email at work this morning.

[moosmom]

I called one of the "testimonials" and boy was SHE pissed!!! I politely asked explained the email and asked her if it was legitimate. Her reply was, "Obviously not!!" and she hung up on me. I think she was getting more of her share of unwanted phone calls.

I guess I got my answer. I'm SO glad I listened to my common sense!!

[Jessika]

...and that is exactly why I don't share my phone number over the internet. I feel sorry for the kids with myspaces who post their cell number on their profile for the whole world to see.

[Blue_Frog]

I used to get asked occasionally (when i still worked tech support on the phones) - Why do people write viruses / hoax letters / etc. and I could never come up with a good answer - i always believed its mostly a 'Because They Can' issue.

But with something like this, what better way to get back at someone you dont particularly like, than to write an official sounding email, mass mail it out to a ton of people (while requesting they pass it on to a hundered of their friends) with the real name, company and phone number of that person? Also, using real companies and such lends credibility to the hoax (like a little truth always lends believability to a lie).

[Catty1]

Always check stuff like this with scambusters.com, or type the name of the email into Google.

Karen is right - this hoax is older than the hills!

[Catlady711]

I have a very dear friend that used to believe everything that ever poped up in her inbox, and of course forwarded it all on to everyone. After I sent her links back explaining it was a hoax and she'd been duped, now she sends them only to me first and lets me research them for her first, before she forwards. She's not very good with a computer so it's easier for her to let me do the research. I'd rather someone send just to me and ask if it's true rather than 20 ppl having to deal with a hoax that they'll forward 'just in case' to 20 more ppl and so on.

I have found that with most ppl, that if you send back a link explaining how it's a hoax for every one they send you, that one of two things will happen...

1) either they will research them more often before forwarding (or have you do it for them)

OR

2) they will quit sending you much of anything out of anger/embarassment, which still stops the flood of hoaxes in your inbox.

In either case I keep an arsenol of debunking sites to research new ones I haven't seen 1,000 times before.

http://www.snopes.com/info/top25uls.asp

http://www.breakthechain.org/current.html
These top two links have a page showing the currently most circulating hoaxes, I usually don't have to go much farther than these two. lol But if I get an oddball one I use the rest of these links to track it down.

http://www.truthorfiction.com/

http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/HoaxBustersHome.html

http://truthminers.com/hoaxarticles/

http://vil.mcafee.com/hoax.asp

[Jessika]

THANKFULLY the only person who emails me silly forwards is my mother, and those are just jokes and stuff. She hasn't sent me any of those, thank goodness lol

[Catty1]

There are a few tips to spotting hoaxes:

First, the endless supply of EXCLAMATION MARKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (with or without capital letters)

Second, THIS WAS ON TV last night! Note the date is never mentioned.....

Third, SEND IT TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW! Hoax for SURE.

Remember, it is technically impossible to track emails. Remember this especially when you read that some charity will donate 3 cents per email...HELLO? Charities ACCEPT donations, they don't DONATE themselves!

Hmmmm...I put in a lot of capital letters and exclamation marks....maybe this is a hoax I have created....

[moosmom]

Catty1,

What an excellent concept. My first thought when I read it was, "Okay, if it's been on TV and USAToday, why didn't they post the link to the news article???

What really set a bell off in my head was when I called the 1-800 number for Mr. Bailey and got, "Sorry, the toll free number you have called cannot be reached from this location" which IMMEDIATELY told me the number was out of the country (had this problem once before trying to reach a rescue organization somewhere in Africa??)

Just goes to show you how powerful the almighty dollar is to people like me who don't have any.

[Craftlady]

I'd wish people would use common sense in any of these email scams.
Bill Gates and anyone else wealthy gives money to chartible causes NOT everyday people through emails. Gosh, there are allot of gullible people out there in this world. Also loads of people spamming and clogging email in boxes.
My response to these kind of emails sent to me by friends, I reply back individually asking them politely to take me off their "group emails". If that doesnt work, I put a block on cc: from those individuals, they go right to the spam file.
I let a friend today know I wasnt happy getting this stupid email.