Chain letter
message that attempts to convince the recipient to make a number of copies and pass them on to a certain number of recipients
A chain letter is a message that ostensibly attempts to convince the recipient to make a number of copies and pass them on to a certain number of recipients. The "chain" is an exponentially growing pyramid (a tree graph) that cannot be sustained.
Common methods used in chain letters include emotionally manipulative stories, get-rich-quick pyramid schemes, and the exploitation of superstition to threaten the recipient with misfortune or promise good luck. Originally, chain letters were letters sent by mail; modern chain letters are often sent electronically via email, social network sites, and text messages.
Types
There are two main types of chain letter:
Hoaxes: Hoaxes attempt to trick or defraud users. A hoax could be malicious, instructing users to delete a file necessary to the operating system by claiming it is a virus. It could also be a scam that convinces users to spread the letter to other people for a specific reason, or send money or personal information. Phishing attacks could fall into this category. Get-rich-quick pyramid schemes promising a substantial return for sending money to people on a list are a common form of hoax chain letter.
Luck- or superstition-based letters: These letters ostensibly promise good luck for forwarding the message or threaten bad luck (or even death) if the chain is broken or the letter is not forwarded.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Chain letter” as message that attempts to convince the recipient to make a number of copies and pass them on to a certain number of recipients. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as message that attempts to convince the recipient to make a number of copies and pass them on to a certain number of recipients. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q371008. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
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Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Chain letter”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Chain letter primary sources, Chain letter archive and Chain research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Chain letter” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.