This is very old content from the old lawsie.com site, in fact I originally posted this in January 2005, and it was already a very old scam by then. But some people still feel the need to forward this for some unknown reason, so here’s the truth on the AOL and Intel merger –
INTEL AND AOL ARE GOING TO MERGE, MICROSOFT WILL PAY YOU FOR FORWARDING THIS EMAIL.
Sound familiar? The AOL/ Intel merger email must be one of the most forwarded emails ever. I get around 500 emails a day and I can guarantee at least five or six of those emails will be tell me to forward them to to someone else for some reason. I never do. As you read the email I’ve copied out below it asks you the question ‘what harm can it do?’ Well basically it can be bloody irritating and on a large company network it can cause a similar problem to a virus that copies itself to your entire address book. A lot of email viruses spread and cause network load problems by reading your address book and then sending a message out to everyone you know. With rubbish like the AOL/ Intel merger email there is no need for virus programmers to even bother with fancy code that might get intercepted by virus scanning software, they can just rely on good old human stupidity to jam up emails systems for them!
Think about it for a moment before you send it to everyone you know,,,
So Intel and AOL are going to merge? Then why would Microsoft care? And more to the point, why would Microsoft pay you for spreading an email? These emails usually arrive in plain text format, I’ve been a network admin for years and years now and let me assure you that it is impossible for Microsoft to track emails that do not originate from their own servers. Even the FBI has trouble tracking emails! As for the comment about Bill Gates being generous and having deep pockets, well he may well have. But on an English chat show recently he was asked if he dropped a $100 bill would he pick it up? The answer is yet, HE NEVER WASTES MONEY!
So before forwarding emails like this ask yourself three questions.
- Can you telephone the person claiming to have received a cheque and ask them about it?
- Do you know anybody in person that has benefited from forwarding an email, EVER?
- Can you contact the company that will supposedly give you money and have them agree?
If the answer to all three questions is no, then delete the email and carry on working. If you don’t believe me then please call your lawyer and see what he says.
Here is one of the many variants of the AOL and Intel merger email;
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 an multimillion dollar class action suit similar to the one filed by Pepsico against General Electric not too long ago. I’ll be damned if we’re all 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. If you don’t believe me you can e-mail her at jpiltman@baylor.edu. She’s eager to answer any questions you guys might have.
This is not a joke. I am forwarding this because the person who sent it to me is a good friend and does not send me junk. 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 for $4,543.23 by forwarding this e-mail.
Try it, what have you got to lose????
Related Links about this scam email; About.com
A fantastic Urban Legends and Folklore resource, the best in my opinion.
BreakTheChain.org
Another great resource on the AOL Intel merger
Snopes.com
Along with about.com the essential place to check out scams and crap emails
Last Updated on February 18, 2023
thanks for share.