A seemingly innocent act performed while surfing the Internet could result in losing e-mail privileges or being thrown in jail.Sending or forwarding any chain letters over Ohio State’s e-mail system is against university policy and could cause the user’s e-mail account to be taken away. Sending chain messages that solicit money is in violation of Ohio law. If University Technology Services finds someone sending e-mail chain letters, they first ask the person to stop, said Bill Miller, coordinator of web services for UTS. If he or she refuses, the account is disabled. Capt. John Hartsock of University Police said chain mail is illegal if there is financial gain involved. Such letters often list a number of people, tell the recipient to send money to them and put their own name on the list, he said. Chain letters that solicit money are considered a pyramid scheme, Hartsock said. The Ohio Revised Code says ‘no person shall propose, plan, prepare or operate a pyramid sales plan or program.’The scheme works when one person gets people to pay him money to be involved in the pyramid. Those people, in turn, find others to buy into the pyramid business. The first person gets a percentage of the profits from the new investors and the second tier of investors get a percentage of the profits from the third tier of investors. The pyramid keeps building until the number of investors run out. People at the top of the pyramid make the most money and profit from those who are below them, Hartsock said. If the amount of money involved is less than $300, the offense is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of $1,000, Hartsock said. For any amount more than $300, the offense is considered a fourth-degree felony which could result in a prison term between six and 18 months and a maximum fine of $5,000.’A second offense is a felony four regardless of the amount,’ Hartsock said. Miller said chain messages can impair the e-mail system.The potentially large number of responses could slow the system and take up mail storage space, causing people to lose e-mail, he said.Hartsock said chain e-mail messages are not very difficult to trace. He needs the entire chain e-mail message in order to trace it. ‘The header information tells me where it comes from,’ he said. ‘The computer system maintains extensive log files. We can tell you exactly where it came from.’ Miller said many people who send chain messages don’t really know the consequences of what they are doing. ‘If a student doesn’t realize that their actions may be against the law (or) OSU regulations…they don’t worry about getting caught since they don’t perceive they are doing anything wrong,’ he said.Anyone who wants to complain about receiving chain e-mail can contact UTS or the University Police. Hartsock said chain e-mail messages are not often reported to University Police. ‘I can count on one hand the amount (of chain messages) referred to us in the last five years,’ Hartsock said.