Microsoft payment
There are a few variations of this message in circulation - there are slight differences in the amount of payment, but the basic structure is the same.
As with other hoaxes, VB's recommended course of action is to delete this email.
Hoax text
Hey friends.. lets drive this one around and see what happens..thanks..
I am forwarding this because the person who sent it to me is a good
friend and does not send me junk.
Micorsoft and AOL are now the largest internet company and in an effort
to make sure that internet explorer remains the most widely used
program, Microsoft and AOL are running an e-mail beta test.
When you forward this e-mail to friends, Microsoft can and will track it
(if you are a Microsoft Windows user) for a two week time period. For
every person that you forward this e-mail to, Microsoft will pay you
$5.00, for every person that you sent it to that forwards it on,
Microsoft will pay you $3.00 and for every third person that receives it,
you will be paid $1.00.
Within two weeks, Microsoft will contact you for your address and then
send you a cheque.
I thought this was a scam myself, but two weeks after receiving this
e-mail and forwarding it on, Microsoft contacted me for my e-mail and
within days, I received a check for $800.00.
VB reminds users: if you receive a virus warning message, do not forward the message to all your friends/colleagues, as it may suggest in the text. If you have verified that the message is a hoax, simply delete it. If you are unsure, forward the message to your IT administrator. Failing that, forward it to hoax@virusbtn.com. It is possible that you may receive a hoax email with a file attachment. Since it is possible that these attachments could be infected VB advises such files to be be treated with the same caution as any other unexpected message attachment and urges users not to open them.
