by Joshua Eldridge

Created on: October 21, 2008   Last Updated: November 04, 2011

According to wikipedia.org, the term "chain letter" is defined as 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.

Surprisingly, such letters have been around for a very long time. Dating as far back as the 1900s, these letters seem to have first taken the form of religious documents that promised divine or magical protection for the person who made copies and passed those copies on to others. By the mid 20th century, they had evolved into schemes to get people to send money back to the originator through the mail as well make copies. A very good example of this the now infamous "Send-a-Dime" letter which originated in the 1930's. This letter was extremely successful and by the time it ran its course, hundreds of thousands of people were making copies to send along to their friends. A remarkable feat, considering the fact that a person had to both take the time to make individual copies of the letter but also had to spend money on the postage in order to send it along.

Modern day chain letters come in the form of emails that try to induce the reader to forward a copy to a given number of friends; the most common number requested seems to be 10. I'm sure anyone with an e-mail account has seen an example of this.

Chain emails serve a number of different causes. It might simply be a harmless story or joke that a person found amusing enough to spread it around a bit. Unfortunately, it might also be an attempt to market a product, a malicious attempt to distribute a virus, or even to steal a persons account information.

Whatever the reason behind the chain email, they all seem to have one thing in common: They attempt to play on a person's emotions in order to trick them into continuing the chain. They might play on superstitions by claiming bad luck for not sending it on. They could attempt to manipulate a person's sense of compassion by claiming the purpose of the letter is to help a sick child. They can even exploit the reader's greed by promising some sort of financial reward in return for propagating the letter.

Ultimately, it seems that good old-fashioned common sense is the best way to deal with these types of letters. Never give your user name or password to anyone, ever. Never click on a link in an email if you don't know what it is or who it's from. Remember, if it looks too good to be true then it almost certainly is. Also, please keep in mind that chain emails are basically spam from your friends, so please forward in moderation.

Learn more about this author, Joshua Eldridge.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.