Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!UTCVM.BITNET!MQUINN From: MQUINN@UTCVM.BITNET Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2 Subject: Re: Easy money Message-ID: <9103230217.AA14020@apple.com> Date: 23 Mar 91 02:05:49 GMT References: Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: The Internet Lines: 38 On Fri, 22 Mar 91 22:06:06 GMT Doug Gwyn said: > >Indeed, that is a classic example of a "pyramid" scheme, and it is HIGHLY >ILLEGAL, at least when it uses the US mails. I suspect that the same is >true in spades for such use of the DoD Internet facilities. Participants >in such schemes risk being the object of criminal prosecution. A year or two ago, one of our local news stations did a story on pyramid scams. According to them, it's HIGHLY illegal, regardless of how you advertise it... even word of mouth. What was happenning here, in Chattanooga, was that some people were doing a scam called the 'airplane'. One person starts a fictitious airplane. This person is called the pilot. He then gets to co-pilots and they each get two crew helpers, who each get two passengers, who each get to pieces of luggage. Everyone pays the pilot a certain amount of money (in this case, it was like $5000). So the pilot takes off with $155,000. Then he leaves. Each person in the pyramid moves up one rank. Each co-pilot becoms a pilot of their own plane (two planes now). Then, each passenger (previously ranked as luggage) must find 2 new peices of luggage. The new luggage each pays their share to the pilot Then everyone moves up another notch in the ranking system and the two planes divide into four planes, and so on. You don't get paid until you are pilot, IF you ever get that far. The planes usually crash very soon after they take off (the chain breaks up and people don't get new luggage) and everyone who has not made it to pilot yet loses their money. Also, it doesn't take long for their to be more people that have 'theoretically' played, than there are people in the world! The local police cracked the game and arrested everyone who participated (who were all middle to high class citizens). I think I'll stop here, 'cause this has nothing to do with Apple II's, but I'd like to hear what happens to that jerk that posted in our group if anyone finds out. ---------------------------------------- Michael J. Quinn University of Tennessee at Chattanooga BITNET-- mquinn@utcvm <------------send files here pro-line-- mquinn@pro-gsplus.cts.com