# People are so dumb (Or) Bwaaaaaahaaahaaaahaaaahaaha! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 10, 2003, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-so-dumb-or-bwaaaaaahaaahaaaahaaaahaaha/194125 "2003-08-10T01:40:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SkyBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@SkyBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkyBum)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-so-dumb-or-bwaaaaaahaaahaaaahaaaahaaha/194125/1 "2003-08-10T01:40:05Z")
I just got this email a few minutes ago. My god are people still falling for this line of crap? I could not believe the sheer number of email addresses in the fwd list. I honestly thought that Cecil was making progress in his fight against ignorance but fellow Teemings, this does not bode well for Cecil. Nope. Not at all. > [@](#): > > Subject: Fwd: Fw: PLEEEEEASE READ!!! [it was on the news!] > > To all of my friends, I do not usually forward messages, but this is from my good friend Pearlas Sanborn and she really is an attorney. If she says that this will work - it WILL work. After all, what have you got to lose? SORRY EVERYBODY…JUST HAD TO TAKE THE CHANCE!!! I’m an attorney, and I know the law. 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 is 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 week 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 cheque. > > Regards. > > Charles S. Bailey > General Manager Field Operations > > 1/800-842-2332 Ext. 1085 > 904/245-1085 or RNX 292-1085 > > [Charles\_Bailey@csx.com](mailto:Charles_Bailey@csx.com) > > 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 cheque for US$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 US$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. For every person that you forward this e-mail to, Microsoft will pay you $203.15. For every person that you sent it to that forwards it on, Microsoft will pay you $156.29. And for every third person that receives it, you will be paid $17.65. Within two weeks, Intel will contact you for your address and then send you a check. I thought this was a scam myself, but a friend of my good friend’s Aunt Patricia, who works at Intel, actually got a check of $4,543.23 by forwarding this e-mail. > > Try it, what have you got to lose??? What have I got to lose? Ohhhhhhhh…I don’t know…my dignity perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-so-dumb-or-bwaaaaaahaaahaaaahaaaahaaha/194125/2 "2003-08-10T01:45:32Z")
This kind of shit makes my toes curl in rage. How goddamned stupid do you have to be to actually take that at face value? I’m aware of the abysmal state of technical knowledge in the US right now, but when has _anyone_, _ever_ paid money for email? _Ever_? Especially for chain letters? (I know this is MPSIMS, but I know cursing is permissable in all fora.) Shit like this is part of the reason SpamAssassin is so popular among hackers and other clueful people. ---
**Author:** ![Sylkyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@Sylkyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylkyn)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-so-dumb-or-bwaaaaaahaaahaaaahaaaahaaha/194125/3 "2003-08-10T01:48:01Z")
My brother-in-law must have you in his address book too, I see. I get that crap every week. And all the glurge you could possibly wallow in. Last time he sent me a chain prayer email, I hit “reply all” and announced I was a Satanist. I bet his friends are all out there praying for me…right after they deleted that reply in a nano-second. I’m mean like that. ---
**Author:** ![Atreyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Atreyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atreyu)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-so-dumb-or-bwaaaaaahaaahaaaahaaaahaaha/194125/4 "2003-08-10T02:04:18Z")
Has anyone dared to try the phone numbers that were left in the reprint of the e-mail? It’s my impression that posting of phone numbers and addresses are generally discouraged on the SDMB. If these phone numbers belong to another individual or company, then posting the phone number here could lead to problems. Just a thought. ---
**Author:** ![SkyBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@SkyBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkyBum)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-so-dumb-or-bwaaaaaahaaahaaaahaaaahaaha/194125/5 "2003-08-10T02:13:59Z")
Well I suppose that I should have x’d them out. I just assumed that they were as fake as the rest of the e-mail and didn’t give it another thought. Oh well, it’s not like a million people have not already seen it. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-so-dumb-or-bwaaaaaahaaahaaaahaaaahaaha/194125/6 "2003-08-10T02:21:34Z")
Here’s more discussion of the matter: [http://www.netscalped.com/\_disc4/000002c2.htm](http://www.netscalped.com/_disc4/000002c2.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Stage\_Manager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stage_manager/32/7267_2.png) [@Stage\_Manager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stage_Manager)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-so-dumb-or-bwaaaaaahaaahaaaahaaaahaaha/194125/7 "2003-08-10T03:34:39Z")
The tollfree number can’t be reached from my area. Bummer. BUT – the 904 number can be. It’s got a recording of a nice man patiently explaining that this email is a hoax. It repeats, quite possibly forever (I only listened one and a half times). ---
**Author:** ![Atreyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Atreyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atreyu)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-so-dumb-or-bwaaaaaahaaahaaaahaaaahaaha/194125/8 "2003-08-10T03:58:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mikie \* > \*\*BUT – the 904 number can be. It’s got a recording of a nice man patiently explaining that this email is a hoax. It repeats, quite possibly forever (I only listened one and a half times). \*\* If the guy went through the trouble of setting up a recording to explain that the e-mail was a hoax, then it seems likely that the phone number in question was never intended to support the scam. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-so-dumb-or-bwaaaaaahaaahaaaahaaaahaaha/194125/9 "2003-08-10T04:40:53Z")
What’s up with people you meet online and all they do is put you on their spam forwarding list? This is definitely some kind of mutant social disorder that has festered it’s rage into a pox on the online community in general. ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-so-dumb-or-bwaaaaaahaaahaaaahaaaahaaha/194125/10 "2003-08-10T15:40:30Z")
Haven’t got that e-mail in a while. I think my friends have finally wised up. Took them long enough! ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-so-dumb-or-bwaaaaaahaaahaaaahaaaahaaha/194125/11 "2003-08-10T17:24:40Z")
I have a friend who is CONSTANTLY sending me these, even though I reply back to her that it’s all a hoax. She’s especially fond of the Little-boy-with-cancer-that-Bill-Gates-will-help emails, as she had cancer herself and is a nurse and loves the idea of being able to help out other people. She just doesn’t seem to want to accept that it’s all a scam! At least from her, it has a good intention behind it. From another friend, however, I am increasingly convinced that it’s just pure ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-are-so-dumb-or-bwaaaaaahaaahaaaahaaaahaaha/194125/12 "2003-08-10T18:03:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sylkyn \* > \*\*My brother-in-law must have you in his address book too, I see. I get that crap every week. > > And all the glurge you could possibly wallow in. Last time he sent me a chain prayer email, I hit “reply all” and announced I was a Satanist. > > I bet his friends are all out there praying for me…right after they deleted that reply in a nano-second. > > I’m mean like that. \*\* Heehee… **Sylkyn** , you are my hero. My cousin (in Utah) sends us this kind of dreck all the time. Now I know how to respond.