Here is what I got yesterday to the billing email address..
:mad:
---------------------------
Kaluga, 6 November, 2001.

Dear Friends,

Please excuse me for any inconvenience caused by this message. My name is Valentin and I'm a student of our local college. I live with my mother and brother in the city of Kaluga, Russia. It is located 200km south from the city of Moscow.

I grew up without a father. He left our family when I was two-years-old. My mother and brother are invalids and they receive a pension very rare from the government which is very small and not enough even for supporting our lives.

I take care of my family alone. During the summer I was able to grow some vegetables at our small garden and it helped us to be alive for the last three months.

Unfortunately the winter is setting in and I'm very afraid. Our television informs us that the coming winter is going to be very cold, like in the last year, when it was minus 56 degrees Celsius. I do not know if we could survive during the coming winter, because we don't have food and warm clothing.

Therefore, I, due to a service opportunity of access to the Internet at our college and hopeless situation have decided apply to you with request to help my family. If you have any old warm clothes which you are not using anymore, as well as anything that is possible to eat, I would be very happy if you could send it to our home address is:

Valentin Mikhaylin,
Ryleeva Street, 6-45
Kaluga. 248030
Russia.

I hope very much for your help. If you think that it is better to help with a little money, please write back and I will give you details on the best way of sending it safely. It is a very good way to help, because of the current crisis prices in our country are very low.

I'm sending you warmest wishes. I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New 2002 Year.

God Bless You,

Valentin and my family.
Kaluga. Russia.
-----------------------------------------

i got that too....just delete...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sintesidelsuono/message/1659
http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/lancashire/archive/2000/12/12/BENLETTERS0ZM.html

Seems like he survived last winter with that spam.

i can imagine how many people believed him...

What always gets me, is that if they are that poor what are they doing owning a TV?

Joana,

It's fortunate that you are sufficiently savvy as to be able to detect this kind of scam on the net.

I would be interested to hear what you do when you are approached by needy folk on the street. On what do you base your decision?

PB

It's based on the fact that the email address that person used does not exist and the "to:" field in the email was blank.
Those 2 things when combined means only 1 thing... SPAM.

Correct me if I am wrong.

I totally agree with you.

Bu how do you decide whether to give when you are on the street?

Use common scence and trust my feelings..
:)

Originally posted by privatebox
Bu how do you decide whether to give when you are on the street?

I know it may seem harsh, but they all get the same treatment from me - they get nothing, as most of the time they are either smoking or have a dog, both non essential items, especially if you are homeless. I will however buy a copy of the big issue from a vendor - again only if they are not smoking or don't have a dog.

I couldn't be so hard. I usually give.

Smoking is an addiction and dogs provide comfort, warmth and companionship.

I would not deny those things to anyone.

That may be true, but surely having the means with which to stay alive are more important? And smoking isn't cheap.

Please don't take this as a flame but it is evident to me that you have never been hungry or had to face adversity.

A lot of the people that find themselves on the street are there due to some kind of mental breakdown. To them, that dog might the difference between life or death. It may be difficult for you to understand, but for many people, the companionship of an animal is all that they have.

To judge someone on the basis of whether they are smoking or have a dog exposes you as being a remarkably shallow person.

I am sorry to have to say that to you.

Believe me, I have had to face difficult times before now. Maybe not on the homlesnes level, but not very far from it, and I know that to survive and keep going, I will do anything needed.

Some years ago, my father broke his back and was off work for over a year, on very very low pay, my mother had to stop working for some time and when she did start working it was again on very low pay, all this whilst putting me through college, paying a mortgage, paying essential bills etc. So I know how it is to struggle, maybe not on the lowest of low levels of struggling, but I do know what it is like to do anything to save some money to get by with.

You are wrong about me, I am by no means a shallow person, I realise that nicotine is a drug and is addictive and that it is very hard for people to give up smoking and that companionship is important to people. But if I gave money to every person who asked for money as I walked through Sheffield then I too would be out on the street, you have no idea how many times people have come up to me and asked for money to get to a place about 20-30 miles away from Sheffield - and guess what, they are still asking the same question 2 years since they first asked me, I don't know about you, but I think in 2 years I would have found a way of getting there by now.

in my country there are many poor people. more then 40% are bellow poverty line and get food for only 1 time.

this is because of currption in state.

i think allot how can i improve my nation condition. i guess eduction is the way. i am planning to take classes to teach poor people how don't have money.

yeah, it feels very bad when you don't have anything to eat.

:(

Karl,

I am sure that you are a very decent person and I am sorry to hear about you old dad.

There is a mentally ill guy near to where I live who has been directing the traffic for 20 years that I know of. He was recently beaten up. Usually folks are very kind to him.

Ironically he both smokes and has a dog.

I'm sorry to hear that, there is no reason for people to treat mentally ill people in the way he was treated, in fact there is no reason to treat anyone like that, be they homeless, mentally ill, or whatever religion they may be.