A typical chain letter consists of a message that attempts to induce the recipient to make a number of copies of the letter and then pass them on to as many recipients as possible. Common methods used in chain letters include emotionally manipulative stories, get-rich-quick pyramid schemes, and the exploitation of superstition to threaten the recipient with bad luck or even physical violence or death if he or she "breaks the chain" and refuses to adhere to the conditions set out in the letter.

In the United States, chain letters that request money or other items of value and promise a substantial return to the participants (like the infamous Make Money Fast scheme) are considered a form of gambling and therefore illegal. Other types of chain letters are viewed as a general nuisance in that frequently multiplying letters clog up the postal system and do not function as correspondence mail, but rather, a game. Some colleges and military bases have passed regulations stating that in the private mail of college students and military personnel, respectively, chain letters are not authorized and will be thrown out. However, it is often difficult to tell chain letters from genuine correspondence.

Channels

Print

Top portion of an 18th-century chain letter purportedly written by Jesus.

The oldest known channel for chain letters is written, or printed, on letters on paper. These might be exchanged hand-to-hand or distributed through the mail. One notorious early example was the "Prosperity Club" or "Send-a-Dime" letter. This letter started in Denver, Colorado in 1935, based on an earlier luck letter. It soon swamped the Denver post office with hundreds of thousands of letters before spilling into St. Louis and other cities.

In Africa, most chain letters take religious perspectives especially relating to Christianity and Islam. Often these letters originate from Photocopy centers, claiming to have originated from the Pope, with the intent of persuading people to make copies of such letters. The content usually gives one or two examples of people, sometimes public figures who obeyed and were rewarded and others who disobeyed and suffered heavily, which may even include cases of deaths and of someone becoming a millionaire overnight. These types of letters will flourish for some days and will die out naturally, partly based on the economic realities of the people, and maybe many would also reason that if that was truly the original letter, then it cannot contain cases of people who had broken or continued the chain.

e-Mail

Some may seem fairly harmless, for example, a grammar school student wishing to see how many people can receive his e-mail for a science project, but can grow exponentially and be hard to stop. Messages sometimes include phony promises from companies or wealthy individuals (such as Bill Gates) promising a monetary reward to everyone who receives the message. They may also be politically motivated, such as "Save the Scouts, forward this to as many friends as possible" or a concept that Touched by an Angel may be forced off the air. Some threaten users with bad luck if not forwarded.

There are many forms of chain e-mail that threaten death or the taking of one's soul by telling tales of other's deaths, such as the Katu Lata Kulu chain e-mail, stating that if it is not forwarded, the receivers of the message will be killed by the spirit. Another involved an email involving a homicidal Mickey Mouse, who will intrude the recipient's domain to kill him or her unless sent to the number of recipients (25). Any lower they will suffer death, injury, paranoia, and bad luck. One anonymous recipient believed the email and had to take counseling.

Platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Myspace can host chain letters playing with users' emotions. They may also be in the form of a warning, such as stories of escaped convicts et cetera which urge the reader to pass the message on. One chain letter distributed on MSN Hotmail began, "Hey it's Tara and John the directors of MSN"... and tells you that your account will be deleted if you don't send that message to everyone.

Another common form of email chain letter is the virus hoax.

Chain spiders

A chain spider is a type of electronic chain letter whereby recipients are encouraged to sign a petition in favour of a particular cause with the list of names contained within the message. This is called a chain spider because each time it is forwarded to a group of people each recipient receives an independent clone of the message such that numerous copies will exist with signatures being added to only one copy. For example if Fred started a chain spider and sent it initially to Katie and Andrew, who in turn signed it, Katie and Andrew would then have different lists to send on with Andrew's friends never being added to Katie's list and vice versa. Chain spiders propagate in an exponential fashion, and thus chains with long recipient lists are likely to have either spread to a lot of people, or contain fabricated information. (see pyramid scheme)

Web communities

Chain letters have become widespread on MySpace (in the form of myspace bulletins) and YouTube (in the form of video comments) as well as on Facebook through messages or applications. Chain letters are often coupled with intimidating hoaxes or the promise of providing the sender with "secret" information once they've forwarded the message.

Legality

Chain letters may also qualify under other types of illegal activities, as in the case of a Ponzi scheme asking recipients to send money and forward the e-mail. They may be harmful, and contain trojans.

In the United States it is illegal to mail chain letters that involve pyramid schemes or other such financial inducements under Title 18, United States Code, Section 1302, the Postal Lottery Statute, though chain letters that ask for items of minor value such as business cards or recipes are not covered by this law.

Bibliography

• Dan Squier. The Truth About Chain Letters, 1990, Premier Publishers, ISBN 0915665212
• Athena Dean. All That Glitters is Not Gold: Breaking Free From the Sweet Deceit of MLM, 1998, Winepress Publishing, ISBN 1579211348
• RL Fitzpatrick. False Profits: Seeking Financial & Spiritual Deliverance in MLM & Pyramid Schemes, 1997, Herald Press, ISBN 0964879514
• James Walsh. You Can't Cheat An Honest Man: How Ponzi Schemes & Pyramid Frauds Work, Merritt Publishing, ISBN 1563431696
• Gary Tartaglia. Shattered Dreams: How To Avoid Costly Mistakes In Multi-level Marketing, 1985, Targeted Communications, ISBN 0961440406
• Stephen Butterfield. Amway: The Cult of Free Enterprise, 1985, South End Press, ISBN 0896082539
• John Scarne. Complete Guide to Gambling, Fully Revised, Expanded, Updated edition. Fireside, 1986, ISBN 0671630636