Caught in a chain of sham

These messages and mails keep pouring into inboxes saying ‘forward this message to at least ten people and good luck will follow otherwise you will get into trouble’.

These chain messages tell the recipient to pass them on to as many people as possible. They include emotionally manipulative stories, get-rich-quick techniques and the exploitation of superstition to threaten the recipient with bad luck if he or she breaks the chain and refuses to adhere to the conditions set out in the letter.

“I forward messages only when they seem interesting and are worth reading. And I also ask my friends to forward anything unique,” says Shashank, who doesn’t believe in chain messages.

He further adds, “People who initiate such emails are simply over-reacting to some news. By doing this, they think they can convince lots of people to take action in this regard. So they try hard to encourage everyone to forward it. Chain emails exploit the weaknesses of the people.”

Then there are mails requesting for money and other valuable items and promise a substantial return to the recipients. Most religious messages give examples of people, sometimes even public figures, who obeyed and were rewarded and others who disobeyed and suffered heavily. These sufferings may even include cases of deaths and of someone becoming a millionaire overnight.

Sowmya C, an employee in a private firm doesn’t pay any attention to such mails and messages. She feels they simply play with the emotions of the recipients.

“My reactions to those nonsensical messages will be a big laughter. The moment I receive them, I delete them. If they are regarding any financial help, I forward them to a few friends. As we are human beings, we can’t ignore them. Whether they may be true or not, I feel bad for their condition at least for a moment,” says Sowmya.

Nagendra, a student, says these messages are bogus. “I tried it once on my mobile, but gained nothing. I had received a message saying, if you forward this to ten people, your account will be recharged with Rs 100. I blindly forwarded this message to as many people as possible. Later, I came to know it’s fake. Being educated, we should not believe such baseless things,” he explains.

Varsha, a student of PESIT, doesn’t believe them and deletes them within a jiffy. “I have come across many such messages. I never pay attention to such things. If the telephone number and contact details are authentic, I cross check them. But most of the time, these are fake. I never bother about the consequences too,” she says.