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Scam: Secret Society, Part 3
May. 19th, 2011 10:04 amThe continuing saga of the "Secret Society" or "Invitation Processing" Scam.
Mom got another letter recently, filled with the most amazing aliquot of horse-hockey. It starts out (recipient's name has been redacted for obvious reasons):
Dear Sucker:
When you sent in your invitation form and received your Orientation Package a few weeks ago, the Leading Members of the Secret Society began power-thinking your future. I am now going to tell you the Leading Members' power-thinking revelations about you, Sucker:
It turns out you're going to be more special than any of us imagined! The Leading Members sent me a confidential report showing you in the future, showing you, Sucker, in our secret society. That report explains why they picked you for our secret society, They picked You for a very specific reason: they discovered that you have the innate creative potential to bring more eternal secrets into our society...to add strength to our hundred-generation secret society. You are one of those rare individuals hiding an explosive potential. Having read about your enormous potential, I can't wait until you absorb all of our secrets!
If you want to plow through the entire load of drivel, you can read it here (55KB PDF File)
You see, they hadn't gotten a payment from her yet, and they were worried. She's so special, and they want her to take advantage of this amazing offer before it expires. This letter is full of so many red flags, it surprises me that they find enough suckers to keep the scam going for so long. Among the best:
And the list goes on. One of the lines I loved best in the letter was "Instead, we will give this package to you for merely our direct costs and overhead - which keeps the Society funded for our children." Well, that's honest... they're using the income from this scam to provide for their families.
I took the liberty of sending their order form back in my mother's name (without credit card info, of course), and the following letter:
In your previous booklet, 'The Greatest Kept Secret of All Time,' as well as in your current testimonial letter, every one of the people mentioned had your 1200-page booklet given to them without charge. Being a powerful and worthy woman, I believe I deserve same.
Please send me the goods. If the secrets they contain are as powerful as you say, I'll be filthy rich before long, and will be pleased to kick back some of my newfound earnings in an amount commensurate with their value.
I'll be curious to see if they follow up. I wish I could get hold of a copy of this 1200-page document, which so many people seem to have gotten for free. If I ever can, I'll post the content here. I have no doubt it's filled with references to the Law of Attraction, which one can find endless information about with a simple internet search.
Folks, if you or your loved ones get solicitations of this nature, please throw them away. There is no Secret Society, unless it's one dedicated to the proposition that suckers should be separated from their money. Protect your family from fraud!
Mom got another letter recently, filled with the most amazing aliquot of horse-hockey. It starts out (recipient's name has been redacted for obvious reasons):
Dear Sucker:
When you sent in your invitation form and received your Orientation Package a few weeks ago, the Leading Members of the Secret Society began power-thinking your future. I am now going to tell you the Leading Members' power-thinking revelations about you, Sucker:
It turns out you're going to be more special than any of us imagined! The Leading Members sent me a confidential report showing you in the future, showing you, Sucker, in our secret society. That report explains why they picked you for our secret society, They picked You for a very specific reason: they discovered that you have the innate creative potential to bring more eternal secrets into our society...to add strength to our hundred-generation secret society. You are one of those rare individuals hiding an explosive potential. Having read about your enormous potential, I can't wait until you absorb all of our secrets!
If you want to plow through the entire load of drivel, you can read it here (55KB PDF File)
You see, they hadn't gotten a payment from her yet, and they were worried. She's so special, and they want her to take advantage of this amazing offer before it expires. This letter is full of so many red flags, it surprises me that they find enough suckers to keep the scam going for so long. Among the best:
- Excessive amounts of stroking and flattery
- Implication of exclusivity
- Outrageous claims of success, income, love, wealth, and luxury
- Random name-dropping (Kiyosaki, Schwarzkopf, etc.)
- Time-sensitive - you must act now!
- Unwillingness to identify the "anonymous mentor", or anyone else in the organization
- Great value - $50,000 for only $139.95
And the list goes on. One of the lines I loved best in the letter was "Instead, we will give this package to you for merely our direct costs and overhead - which keeps the Society funded for our children." Well, that's honest... they're using the income from this scam to provide for their families.
I took the liberty of sending their order form back in my mother's name (without credit card info, of course), and the following letter:
In your previous booklet, 'The Greatest Kept Secret of All Time,' as well as in your current testimonial letter, every one of the people mentioned had your 1200-page booklet given to them without charge. Being a powerful and worthy woman, I believe I deserve same.
Please send me the goods. If the secrets they contain are as powerful as you say, I'll be filthy rich before long, and will be pleased to kick back some of my newfound earnings in an amount commensurate with their value.
I'll be curious to see if they follow up. I wish I could get hold of a copy of this 1200-page document, which so many people seem to have gotten for free. If I ever can, I'll post the content here. I have no doubt it's filled with references to the Law of Attraction, which one can find endless information about with a simple internet search.
Folks, if you or your loved ones get solicitations of this nature, please throw them away. There is no Secret Society, unless it's one dedicated to the proposition that suckers should be separated from their money. Protect your family from fraud!
