Secret Society Scam

A few weeks ago, I got a mysterious letter via snail mail (see blog entry Peculiar World), saying I was being invited to a secret society of supposedly remarkable people with extraordinary talents. They said that they've studied my profile and that they've determined that I was also one of the few gifted (whoa!) and thus the invite.

They were saying that they would share the secret to success (in love, money, etc.) with me if only I would join them. Well, the only thing I needed to do was send them back the form consenting to join the society.They didn't ask for any fee, so why not? What have I got to lose? Well, maybe the fax charge that was already deducted from my salary.

Anyway, I recently heard from them again, and this time they even sent their mail via DHL.. woah! again. However, among all the documents enclosed was a payment form. They sent me an orientation booklet or something, which was for free, but to receive the next installment, that is, the real book of secrets (it said 2300-year old secrets), I'd have to pay $200.. huwaatt??? So that's when I started to smell something fishy.

If this was really a "secret" society then I wouldn't find anything on the web. But as I tried to google it, I saw this forum where people were talking about the same letter I had received. Some were curious enough to buy the then-$100++-now-$200-book, and they didn't find anything useful in it.... just a bunch of crap! There were definitely no secrets there! Plus, after you get the second book, you are encouraged to purchase a third and fourth book for more secrets --- ugh! *rolls eyes*

They promise that the book will teach you how to succeed in love, money, personal relationships, and how it can make you control other people or profit from them... another dubious thing. Even if there was such a secret, why is it so self-serving? The booklet they sent contained testimonies of how the lives of the society members have changed because of the secret. So if they're so rich then why don't they use their wealth to help the poor? All the testimonies were very self-centered, focusing on how they earned millions, found their true love, looked better or gained popularity among friends. Besides, why would you ever want to control other people or try to profit from them? Won't this be bordering on evil? Wanting to become rich , happy and successful is fine, but why would you control other people, too?

From what I've read on the web, these letters seem to be coming from a company called Nouveau Tech and is somewhat related to Kevin Trudeu of the Amway pyramid scam (not really familiar with this.. isn't Amway a legit company?). Is this another marketing ploy for these people to gain quick cash without really having any product to sell?

The letter I got said that even if I don't buy the book of secrets, just reading the orientation booklet will be enough to introduce changes into my life. It said these changes will occur within two weeks after reading the booklet. Well, I'm still reading it (just out of curiosity :P), and so far I haven't uncovered any "secrets", but will let you know should I suddenly become rich LOL! You'll all get a free dinner from me if I did.. yeah right! LMAO