You get an email from your friend saying "Microsoft will pay you $5 for every person you email this message to, an additional $3 for every person they forward it to and so on". It really works says the chain letter. You think, WOW!!! that's great and you are going to forward it to all your friends, relatives, neighbors and everyone you can think of because you are hoping to make lots of money. Well folks....sorry but it does NOT work,  it's a rumor.  Think about it, do you really think Microsoft is actually going to pay you and your friends just to circulate an email on the internet?  Of course they aren't, and if you forward the email, you have been had.  There are so many UL's, virus hoaxes and rumors circulating the internet today that it is really getting out of hand.  I know we all get a ton of junk mail in our mailboxes every day.  99% of that can be deleted.  (Some email clients such as Outlook, Netscape and Eudora have filters where you can set it to pick up a word or phrase and the software will automatically send the message to your trash bin.) I still get these hoaxes from my well meaning friends on a regular basis and I'm sure you do too.  The best way to handle this is 1) think about who has sent you the email....just because your friend or relative sent it to you, does not make it true. If you notice on most forwarded emails, there is a list a mile long of email addresses. These messages have been circulating for days and possibly weeks.  Not only do they waste our time, but they also clog up the mail servers.  2) check with your virus software provider and see if the virus is indeed real. 3) visit websites that offer information on hoaxes and urban legends.  This is the one that I use  Urban Legends and Folklore Check out this site before you forward the email.  Just remember if it sounds too good to be true or too outlandish to be true, it probably is not true.

Just to name a few urban legends:

Here is the latest piece of junkmail circulating around the Net. "Gas Out 2000" Forward email incites Americans to protest high prices of gasoline by skipping 3 days at the pumps. It all began with an anonymous email inciting Americans to protest high gasoline prices by boycotting the pumps on April 30.  "Know what I found out?" the message teased. "If there was just ONE day when no one purchased any gasoline, prices would drop drastically."

Well, who says a brilliant insight has to make sense?

Gas prices had risen conspicuously in the early months of 1999, especially in California, and American consumers were incensed. The email manifesto played on that anger, speeding from coast to coast along the information highway, inspiring a Website, eliciting lip service from politicians. By April 30 the Great Gas Out had all the appearances of an actual protest.

The idea was this: by putting a dent in the oil companies' pocketbooks, however slight, consumers could thereby send a message to The Powers That Be, compelling them to lower prices. What no one
ever bothered to explain, however, was exactly how buying gas a day earlier or a day later was supposed to achieve that. Economists pointed out that an effective boycott required less consumption of gasoline. But that did not deter the angry masses.

There was plenty of media buzz by the time the big day arrived, and TV crews could be found lurking at gas stations everywhere to document the insurrection. What they captured on tape, for the most part, was folks filling their tanks as usual. A few people did stay away from the pumps, but in the end the protest was a bust, and, as predicted, had zero effect on gas prices.

It's now 11 months later and history is repeating itself. February saw U.S. gas prices rise again and, as the month drew to a close, a familiar call to arms began showing up in inboxes everywhere.

Folks, not buying gas for a couple days will NOT reduce the price. The price of gas would be reduced if the production of oil increases which will increase the supply, and lower the price. So if OPEC increases production, then the price of gas will come down..

This one is totally ridiculous. "KFC uses mutant chickens" The hottest Net rumor of the new year warns that if you buy a meal at a KFC restaurant you won't exactly get what you bargained for. It may look like fried chicken and taste like fried chicken, but it's actually a "genetically manipulated organism" so different from the real animal that the company can't legally call it "chicken." According to the forwarded email circulating since early December, Kentucky Fried Chicken had to change its brand to "KFC" for the same reason.

Executives at KFC headquarters who've seen the rumor are aghast at the possibility that some people might be taking it seriously. When I asked Michael Tierney, KFC's director of public affairs, if there's any truth to it, he said, "Of course not."

He added: "Any thinking adult would know it's absolutely absurd."

Well, okay. But – for perspective – we are talking about the Internet, where just last year tens of thousands of users besieged Honda's corporate Website with inquiries about an email promising free cars to everyone who clicked their "Forward" button.

Colette Janson-Sand, Associate Professor of Nutrition at the University of New Hampshire (where research on KFC's products was allegedly conducted), says her department has received numerous phone calls about the chicken rumor, some of them "hysterical." The university has published a rebuttal labeling the rumor a hoax.

Tierney pointed out to me (and it was easily verifiable) that KFC – which officially dumped its "Kentucky Fried Chicken" logo 9 years ago to emphasize product variety – still uses the word "chicken" ubiquitously in its advertising. Remember the TV commercial jingle, "We Do Chicken Right!"? That's KFC. The company's Website, accessible at both http://kfc.com and http://kentuckyfriedchicken.com, makes reference to chicken on virtually every page.

I received a terrible email hoax in my mailbox today (March 27, 2000). This one had a picture of Elmo in ASCII art stating that "For every new person you forward this message to The American Cancer Society will donate 3 cents for cancer research." First of all, The Cancer society does not make donations, they accept donations. The original email started out with a little girl by the name of Jessica Mydek who was suffering from an acute form of cancer and had only 6 months to live. (the chain letter started back in 1997 so her six months have long passed). Folks, Jessica Mydex NEVER existed. I checked in to this. Here is what the American Cancer Society has to say about these fraudulent and horrible email hoaxes.

This statement may be copied or reprinted by online users The American Cancer Society is greatly disturbed by reports of a fraudulent chain letter circulating on the internet which lists the American Cancer Society as a "corporate sponsor" but which has in no way been endorsed by the American Cancer Society. There are several variations of this letter in circulation, including one which has a picture of "Tickle Me Elmo" As far as the American Cancer Society can determine, the story of Jessica Mydek is completely unsubstantiated. No fundraising efforts are being made by the American Cancer Society using chain letters of any kind. Furthermore, the email address ACS@AOL.COM is inactive. Any messages to the American Cancer Society should be instead sent through the American Cancer Society website at American Cancer Society

I emailed the original sender of this chain letter. I had to scroll down through hundreds of email addresses before I even found it. This particular email has been circulating since February. That is just one email on this subject, there are hundreds of others circulating because people keep passing this stuff on. When I emailed her I told her that she should not make up stories about non-existent cancer patients, that there is enough suffering in this world today. And that we don't need to add to it by sending out false letters. I doubt I will receive a reply back from this woman, but I feel better that I emailed her and told her how what she did is a terrible thing.
 
 

These are just a couple that I have picked out.  There are many many more and to read them and see how ridiculous they all are go to the URL above.  A rule of thumb is, that if you receive an email warning or alert with the words "you must pass this on to everyone that you know", these are hoaxes.

Tell your friends that you do not wish to be on their forwarded list anymore.  If you do not want to hurt their feelings by doing that, then when they send you a forwarded email, just delete it and DON'T pass it on.
 
 

Site Map

This S.H.U.T.U.P! site owned by Sandi. Would you like to join the ring?

Spam Haters United To Uphold Privacy!

Previous 5 Sites Skip Previous Previous Next Skip Next Next 5 Sites Random Site List Sites