www.one4sun.net.au

PayPal Registration Scam - Initial Emails Received on Monday, April 14, 2003

One of the two identical email messages I received which started off my investigation of this scam are reproduced in full below (minus all the HTML encapsulation).


From mr_dan_wilson@hotmail.com Mon Apr 14 10:47:02 2003
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From: "dan wilson" <mr_dan_wilson@hotmail.com>
To: one4sun@lios.apana.org.au
Subject: Offer from Ebay Member (danthemanhk)
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2003 00:46:44 +0000
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Dear friend, Here's something that costs just $5 US and is a lot of fun
making lots of money for everyone involved! This is not some stupid gimmick!
I received a similar email to this and its not something that I would
usually go for, but it is SO COOL!

Try It! Simply Follow the instructions below and in 2 to 3 weeks you will
have will have hundreds or even thousands of dollars in your PayPal account.
I think everyone has heard of "PayPal" (if not you will). PayPal is the
simplest method of making and receiving payments online. Anyone with an
email address can join for FREE! If you're not already a Paypal user, the
first thing you need to do is go to PayPal and Sign Up FREE:

https://www.paypal.com/refer/pal=E88V5KVAMGD9C

click on or copy and paste the link above to sign up for a PREMIER (FREE)
account or you will be limited to accepting only $100. You Will Make Much
More Than That! If you are in the USA, you have most likely seen or heard
about "The Letter" $5.00 program that was recently televised on 20/20, OPRAH
WINFREY, and an article published in the Wall Street Journal on 6/16/2001.
If not, here it is!!This version has nothing to do with Postal Laws, as it's
EMAIL ONLY.

Most people respond to this program because of the low investment and high
Profit Potential. The return rate is currently 50 to 80%. After all,the only
risk is $5. Yet there is No Limit to the income you can generate from this
business, you can do it over and over. The only down fall is people who try
to put their address in the #1 place if they do that they will only reach
the people they send to, and only make a couple of dollars.

If you follow the instructions you will reach thousands of people!

LETS GET STARTED!

1st, send a $5.00 donation/payment from your PayPal Account (You will earn
back $5.00 from PayPal) to The FIRST email address on the list along
with a note saying "Please add me to your mailing list", understand that you
need to pay as non auction goods. When you pay title it "money add to
mailing". This way there is no questions about getting money for nothing.
You saying put me on your mailing list is a way of saying you are paying for
them to do so. So you see you are paying for something. This is 100% legal
paypal likes to see that you are paying for something. This is why you do
it, just to make paypal happy. Now send an email to the 4th person on the
list saying "Thanks I've joined".

Then, Remove the first email address and place your address at the bottom.
This should move the second place into the first place and the third place
into second and fourth into the third.

DON'T TRY TO PLACE YOURSELF IN THE FIRST PLACE. IT WILL ONLY REACH THE PEOPLE
YOU SEND IT TO, AND THEN YOUR NAME WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE 1STPLACE BY THAT
PERSON.

If you do this the way it was designed it will reach thousands by the time
your name gets to the top.

REMEMBER TO ONLY SEND a $5.00 donation/payment to the first email
address, and Send "THANKS I'VE JOINED" to the forth person. This lets
the 4th person keep track of there progress. Please understand that by
removing the top address and not paying them the 5 dollars, you are only
hurting the system. You will make money only if everyone is honest. I know
there will be some who do this but it is not smart. This way works if
everyone goes along with it and everyone will be happy trust me. It is only
5 dollars! Pay it!! Most people are honest when it comes to this process, I
hope you are to. Look at it this way. They were the ones who helped spread
this process and helped it get to you for you to make money, so 5 bucks is
not much. You will want the money from others! 5 dollars for thousands is a
good exchange!!!!

********************************

1. DonBrosco187@aol.com

2. richross1@yahoo.co.uk

3. o.pike@vla.defra.gsi.gov.uk

4. danielwilson_ebay@hotmail.com

*********************************

NOW that you have made your donation to the first person and sent the fourth
person a note, place your email address in the fourth place (Make sure its
the same email address you used for your PayPal account. This is the way you
will receive payment.) OK, the only thing left to do is Mail out at least 20
copies or more of this letter in a week or so. When your name reaches the
TOP of the list it will be your turn to Collect your Money from 2,000 to
3,000 people just like yourself who are willing to spend $5.00 and half an
hour of there time to receive $20,000 in CASH!

TESTIMONIALS: Mary Gather; Columbus, SC: "I only have one thing to say to
you....OH MY GOD! I sent out 20 copies like the instructions said and left
on vacation. When I got back my account had over $12,000 in it already! I'm
still suspended in disbelief. Thanks!"

:Tony Stevens; "Vandenberg AFB, CA : Hey I received this letter a few weeks
ago and sent it to all of our frat brothers....I haven't seen my $20,000 yet,
but I'm up to $8,285. This program ROCKS!"

Good luck with it if you decide to play the game by the rules and I hopewe
can all get a bit richer!

King regards,
Dan.

P.S My Ebay ID is DanthemanHK (95) you can check my reputation on that site
and know that I am an honest buyer and seller. You'd see that I have no
negative feedback from anyone only positive!! You could also email me
through the site if you want to check this is really from me.

P.P.S May I take this opportunity to thank you for taking the time to read
this email, and whether or not you decide to take it up, please accept my
best wishes.

Now that you've read the email text, what do you think? It stinks of being an Ebay/PayPal-based pyramid scheme to me...

The US$12000 figure is a heck of a lot of PayPal registration kickbacks! A whole 2400 of them!

You can also read the complete email with full HTML-encoded content as it was originally received.

You're visitor #

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If there's something you'd like to ask me, or you'd just like to say hello, please send me some email. Note that the email address has been 'poisoned'.

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