Question: Is Ericsson really giving away free computer laptops?

Hi, everyone

The Ericsson Company is distributing free computer lap-tops in an
attempt to match Nokia that has already done so. Ericsson hopes to increase
its popularity this way. For this reason, they are giving away the new
WAP Laptops. All you need to qualify is to send this mail to 8 people you
know. Within 2 weeks, you will receive Ericsson T18. But if you can send it
to 20 people or more, you will receive Ericsson R320. There are people
within our building who have received their laptops so I thought I would share
this info with you in hopes that you get one before the give them all out!

Make sure to send a copy to: anna.swelung@ericcson.com

Editor's Note: Please continue reading below to find out whether Ericsson really is giving away free laptops!

Answer

This chain email really disturbs me on a variety of levels. Let me enumerate them for you.

1. It is amazingly easy to go to the Ericsson Company website, and run a simple search for anna swelung (the second thing I thought of to search for) and find that this is a hoax. Why do people forward these things to hundreds of people when it takes 30 seconds to find out the truth of the matter, and not waste everyone's time?

Here's what Ericsson Company says (it's even on their Frequently Asked Questions page, which really says something!)

A chain letter is currently in circulation via e-mail, purporting that
Ericsson is giving away mobile phones. The e-mail is a fraud and
Ericsson is not giving away phones for free. The following is an
extract from the letter:
"If you forward it [the letter] to 20 friends, you will receive a brand
new Ericsson phone."
The letter is signed off Anna Swelund, Executive Promotion Manager
for Ericsson Marketing. This person does not exist at Ericsson. The
legal and IT departments at Ericsson will trace the person who
initiated the illegal chain letter. Ericsson is sorry for any inconvenience this might have caused and kindly ask people not to forward the chain mail further.]

(notice that in this version it's cell phones, not laptops, and it's Anna Swelund, not Anna Swelung. Also notice that Ericsson is peeved enough by this that they are threatening legal action against the perpetrator)

2. Here's another thing that especially disturbs me. Did it ever occur to anyone that it was possible that Anna Swelung might have been a real person, and if she was, then she's getting swamped by thousands of these emails every single day, because no one is taking the time to check whether it's true before they send her an email.

How would you like it if I posted your email address on this page, and told everyone that you were giving away free laptops?

You'd feel like suing me, wouldn't you? Well, here's something for you to consider. Since you forwarded this email to a bunch of people, you have become one of the perpetrators of this scam, and you have just forwarded your email address to a company which has just stated they'll be happy to take legal action.

Let that one sink in for a moment.

3. Every time you forward this email to your friends, your email address and theirs is getting added to the main text of this email. Which means you're violating my privacy by sending my email address out in a forward that will eventually get in the hands of hundreds of people I don't even know. How many of those people are spammers who will harvest my email address?

No wonder I get so much spam. It's all your fault. Oh, and whose fault is it that you get so much spam? Well, I guess the answer to that question would also be YOU.

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