CHAIN LETTERS HAVE SIMILAR PATTERNS: HOOKS AND THREATS

The start of the letter was a familiar one: "Welcome to our program, a program designed for people who want to better their lives financially while helping others."

Just send $5 to help the six people named in this letter and wait for your mailbox to be stuffed full of cash.

The letter, received by a couple of Cape Girardeau residents recently, continues:

"This is a cooperative opportunity program, 'People Helping People.' It means just what it says: I help you and you help me by helping others who follow you. We all help one another."

You can end up depositing more than $275,000 in the bank.

Chain letters all have a similar pattern -- from the older printed letters to the newer electronic kind:

* A hook.

* A threat.

* A request.

There's at least one problem with chain letters, say U.S. Postal authorities and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service -- they are illegal if they ask for money or other items of value, and promise a substantial return to participants.

Chain letters are a form of gambling, violate Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 1302, The Postal Lottery Statues, said a spokesman of the Postal Inspection Service at St. Louis.

Chain letters that ask for small items of minor value, like post cards or recipes, may be mailed legally, because these items are not things of value within the meaning of the law.

Recently, high-tech chain letters have started surfacing via the Internet and e-mail. They required the copying and mailing of computer disks rather than paper. Regardless of what technology is used to advance the scheme, if the U.S. mail is used at any step along the way, it is illegal.

"The main thing to remember is that a chain letter is simply a bad investment," said John Hampton of the Cape Girardeau Post Office. "You'll probably receive little or no money. The few bucks you get probably won't even pay for the making and mailing copies of the chain letters."

People receiving chain letters seeking money should turn them into their post office.

"It will be forwarded to postal inspectors," Hampton said.

The "People Helping People" chain letter has created some complaints to the Missouri attorney general's office.

There are many "People Helping People," charities that are responsible programs, but this particular program is headquartered in San Diego, Calif.

People can recognize the chain letter by its hook, such as "Make Money Fast," or "Get Rich Quick." Or, in the case of the People Helping People scheme, it's "Give and You Shall Receive.

The Threat, in many cases, is that "breaking the chain will bring bad luck."

In the years before computers, chain letters were common. Many asked people to send $1 to 10 people in the chain. Your name then goes on the list, and you will start receiving money.

Today, with the click of a button, a message can be forwarded to hundreds of people at no apparent cost to the sender, and the sender will then receive cash from hundreds of people. Chain letters usually do not have the name and contact information of the original sender so it is impossible to check on its authenticity.

Legitimate solicitations will always have complete contact data.