Editor’s note: This article was first published in September 2010; its references to Hotmail, since replaced by Outlook.com, and the joke about the world ending in 2012 reflect that time.
Excellent news is being spread through a mass email: Bill Gates is giving away his fortune and paying Hotmail users to forward the message. Incredible news indeed.
The only problem is that it’s a LIE. The companies that make a living from feeding databases that are later used for spam know no limits. The fact is that this chain email has been doing the rounds for about four years now, and people keep forwarding the eye-catching message.
Most people already know how these databases work, but for everyone else, here’s an appeal: don’t cooperate with this kind of spam system, because later we complain that our inbox is bombarded with unwanted advertising.
If our friend Bill Gates really were handing out money, it would be on the front page of newspapers around the world and on every TV news bulletin. It’s a pity, of course, that the Microsoft founder is so busy, because that message could be reported for slander and defamation, which would create a serious problem for the person or company that started it.
Anyway, a few tips:
- Bill Gates doesn’t hand out money to internet users, although he will give it to a humanitarian cause.
- Your Hotmail account is safe, and it won’t be closed because you didn’t forward a message.
- You won’t get 27 years of bad luck for not forwarding a message. I’ve already racked up 3,145 years of bad luck.
- That little girl who has already been kidnapped seven times, has been born with birth defects five times and needs 32 operations: rest assured that, if she even exists, her parents won’t receive a single cent because you forwarded an email.
- And finally, if the world is going to end in 2012, sending an email won’t save you.
Featured image: Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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