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 By The AsiaOne Techbot
Almost anyone who has an email account would have come across one of these emails - forwarded chain letters claiming to reward users with cash should they forward the message to others.
Do these message really hold true to their promise? If not, then why is everyone still doing it?
A commonly circulated version of one such email would be a message that claims the richest man in the world and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates wants to share his fortune and is giving users money for each email they forward.
One version of this email states that users stand to get $245.00 for every person that they send the message to, $243.00 for every third person who receives it, and guaranteed $241.00 within two weeks. The currency of the pay out is often not specified.
The email also claims that the message comes from a Microsoft and AOL email beta test. Microsoft's Windows operating system is able to track the message's whereabouts, and all users who comply to the forwarding request will be contacted by the software maker and be sent a cheque.
In some instances, previous messages left by those who have passed the message on claim to have received amounts ranging from tens of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars from Microsoft for simply forwarding the message.
While this sounds like a simple way to make money, sadly Microsoft won't come knocking on your doors and presenting you with a cheque.
Not only will email providers and software makers be unwilling to track an email message as it makes its rounds on the Internet, it is almost impossible to do so as well.
Most email messages comprise of pages of text with no code or embeded programs to send information back to a centralized server.
Internet Service Providers and corporations alike will also stay clear of the contents and goings on in an individual's inbox for privacy reasons.
The sheer amount of data out there would also mean that this would also mean that corporations would steer clear of such an undertaking unless absolutely necessary. And giving away free money to people just doesn't sound like a viable business strategy any way you see it.
So the next time you see a new message in your Inbox asking you to pass it along for a quick buck, ignore the "don't miss this chance!" tagline and delete it.
Get rich quick emails like these are one of the many online urban legends out there that simply refuse to die.
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