Online offers, am I mail fraud guilty?

2 replies
  • OFF TOPIC
  • |
Hello, I have something that I need serious advice on and I really would appreciate it. I have signed up for both Rewards1 and Points2shop.com and I'm slowly getting enough credit the request some of the prizes that they have. The thing that is bothering me though is that when filling out the online offers I need to receive points, I use false info such as phone numbers, addresses, and names. I was okay with this but after a suggestion saying it may be mail fraud which is a federal offense, I don't know if I should be doing it anymore.
I researched Mail Fraud and the definition came up to be this:

Mail fraud refers to any scheme which attempts to unlawfully obtain money or valuables in which the postal system is used at any point in the commission of a criminal offense. Mail fraud is a legal concept in the United States Code which can provide for increased penalty of any criminally fraudulent activity if it is determined that the activity involved used the United States Postal Service.

Now you can see where the problem is. Upon further research of the different types of mail fraud, I noticed that it really only involves people or companies saying that they will give you a product, but first you must pay us and then the product never comes or impersonating a real company and asking for your information under their name. My case is using a fake mailing address/identity to complete online offers and earn points that I can use to redeem prizes. The types of mail fraud that I saw didn't include anything about using a fake address to fill out an online offer and receive points for but where money was not exchanged. On the other hand, I am using false info to obtain property so I'm really not sure if I should continue or not. To me, it seems like mail fraud pertains to companies using a fake address and a false promise to get money out of you without actually giving you anything.

So the question is, am I in the wrong?

Thanks for the help in advance.
  • Profile picture of the author bendiggs
    Just the fact that you have to ask the question should show you that you are on morally unstable footing. I am not a lawyer and I will not give you legal advice, especially since I do not know what constitutes mail fraud. what I will tell you is that you are more or less trying to steal from these companies. They are accepting your contact information as a form of payment in exchange for their goods, but you are paying them in false currency.

    Since you are obviously questioning the legality and morality of these actions you know that you are doing something wrong and should probably stop.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[86060].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Firzenx2
      When you put it in a perspective like that, I see I'm not really doing the right thing at all so I think ill stop. Thanks Ben for the help, I really appreciate it.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[86383].message }}

Trending Topics