Are You Paying It Forward To Scammers?

I received an interesting e-mail request this past week, asking for $1 to help fight childhood cancer and support the "Pay It Forward to Cure Childhood Cancer" organization.

The title in the subject area of the e-mail reads, "Change the World or Continue to Sleepwalk through Life!!!" The three exclamation points were a bit much, but I read on.

The letter begins with a reference to the recently released film "Pay It Forward," starring Helen Hunt, Kevin Spacey and Haley Joel Osment. Osment's 11-year-old character in the film is inspired by Spacey's character, his social studies teacher, to think up an idea that can change the world. Spacey has been sleepwalking through this exercise for 20 years, and by the time we meet him, he's lowered his expectations to a point where he isn't counting on anyone coming up with much. He's heard it all, and he knows that the kids' ideas aren't going to make a real difference.

Osment, though, surprises him with a simple idea: Instead of paying a person back for something great that they did for you, Osment suggests that you can change the world by paying the good deed forward. If you do something really special for three unsuspecting people, and three more people do it, and so on and so on, Osment surmises that all those good deeds will add up to a world changed for the better.

I liked the movie, even with its critically mixed reviews. And unless we start seeing the tag "Pay It Forward" on every T-shirt and coffee mug across America, I like the commotion that the film has provoked. As reported in a recent issue of USA Today, religious and educational leaders across the land are taking up the story's mission and encouraging their flocks to make the film's message a personal crusade.

So when I received an e-mail that uses the film's message to scam the public, I felt outraged. I can't prove that this request for $1 is a scam, but the red flags are there. And no, a dollar isn't much to lose, but when you multiply the possibilities, if the e-mail was sent to thousands of e-mail addresses, the scammer can realize a lot of loot.

Sympathetic Cyber-Chain Letter Or Something Else?

So why didn't I rush to my checkbook? I read the one-page message over several times and decided to alert people about what, on the surface, seems like a good cause.

Tugging on your sympathy, the pleading letter says, "If you have ever had the horrible experience of having your child go through treatment for any of these diseases (i.e., cancer) without ever knowing if the treatment will be successful, then you know what my daughter and family have been through. And you can help to prevent the same terrors that can strike into the heart of a family.

"I have chosen to represent over 15 national childhood cancer organizations for this purpose. The proceeds will be directed specifically for research in the area of childhood cancers -- leukemia, lymphoma, neuroblastoma and many others.

"Who am I? I'm merely someone who has seen too many children stricken with childhood cancers and wants to change the world so that other children, and their parents, will never have to know the terrors that these diseases bring.

"I have christened this global mission 'Pay It Forward to Cure Childhood Cancer.'

"Please choose carefully your three brothers or sisters in this global mission and dare to change the world. Please include $1 only or a check payable to 'Pay It Forward to Cure Childhood Cancer' and send to:

c/o 11110 Boathouse Court
Reston, VA 20191"

Red Flags

I looked on the Internet for a Web site with the name "Pay It Forward to Cure Childhood Cancer" and found nothing.

I also called directory assistance and found no telephone number for the organization in the state of Virginia.

But before I did that, I noticed other red flags, useful for this purpose or for other times when you question the background of a charitable organization.

The first clue is in this sentence: "I have chosen to represent over 15 national childhood cancer organizations for this purpose." If that's the case, what are they? If this person really was associated with national cancer organizations, like the American Cancer Society, why not say it? In fact, the name alone might inspire you to give. But if it's a scam, of course the writer wouldn't say which ones they were "representing," because it might entail entrapment.

Another red flag is the fact that there's no personal or business name on the e-mail. No telephone number, no way to contact the person other than the address given to send money. It would seem to me that someone getting this e-mail might, if they were so struck by sympathy, want to contact this organization and give more than $1. Let's say that you wanted to donate $15,000. In that case, you'd want to make sure that the organization was legitimate. With substantial donations, you'd want to evaluate the organization's financial statements to see how the charity's money was being used.

But the "Pay It Forward" letter has an unusual lack of contact information.

If you get this letter, you should be the judge whether it's a scam or not. If you receive this letter, or any other one that asks for money, ask yourself this question: "Where is the money really going?" If you can't answer that, you're probably better off not paying it forward.

For more information:

• For prevention tips or to file a mail complaint online: www.usps.com/postalinspectors
• You can also contact the Better Business Bureau regarding tips on charitable giving: www.bbb.org/about/tipsgive.asp