A Vaccine Against Hoax e-mail

Dear fellow netizens,

Consider this message to be an inoculation against hoaxes spread by e-mail -- a vaccine. Read it and you will be doing yourself and everyone with whom you correspond via e-mail a great service. Forward this or the plain text version to all of your friends via e-mail and you will be doing the Internet a great service. In fact, I've even seen hoaxes get sent via fax, so you might want to spread this "vaccine" to friends and colleagues the same way.

The best way you can prevent unnecessary concern over e-mail hoaxes is to take the time to check your sources of information before you forward e-mail.

That's it? Yes, that's it. The vaccine is: Check sources. No software to download. No painful shots. And, if this vaccine takes hold on the 'net, no more time lost fretting about stories that turn out to be hoaxes.

My preferred way to check sources is to visit the search engine google.com and type in a few key words from the e-mail. For instance, if someone asks you to send anything to Craig Shergold, first type his name into the search box at google.com and read about the most famous hoax of all time. Same for Jessica Mydek. To help get to the real story, add the word "hoax" when you're searching. For instance, don't just search for "Nieman Marcus cookies"—search for Nieman Marcus cookies hoax.

I also recommend that you visit one of the following Web sites and learn more about junk e-mail, hoaxes, and scams. The 'net is crawling with them. They typically get spread by good-intentioned people forwarding e-mail or faxes.

LIEmails [1]. I got a polite e-mail introducing me to this excellent site from the editor David Grant on 4/14/01. The site describes itself this way:

A number of Web sites deal with exposing hoaxes that circulate by e-mail, but this site is specifically designed for born-again Christians.

As Christians, we are commanded to, and we do, care about others - so when we hear of problems, or ways we can help others, we want to do so. Many times, we receive e-mails with just such information, and often those e-mails urge us to forward them to everyone we can.

I'll add my Amen! to that.
hoaxinfo.com [2]. I just discovered this site tonight. Run by Jeff Richards. I'm always impressed by individuals who maintain sites. Jeff seems to have a lot of energy to devote to his hobby of debunking hoaxes.
Urban Legends and Folklore [3], run by About.com, a very reputable Internet company. This site is continuously updated with the latest news on hoaxes.
"Don't Spread that Hoax!" [4]. My personal favorite. It's been around longer than any other anti-hoax site, to my knowledge.
Computer Virus Myths [5]. "Learn about the myths, the hoaxes, the urban legends, and the implications if you believe in them. You can also see a list of virus hoaxes from A to Z."

Especially watch out for these hoaxes:

The Sony pro-abortion Christmas album [6] (perfectly true and consequently appalling, but very old news just the same)
cockroach eggs in your mouth from licking envelopes (and other creepy-crawly urban legends) [7]
anything mentioning Madalyn Murray O'Hair (incorrectly spelled Madeline O'Hare) [8], [9], [10]
"Klingerman Virus" [11]
Bill 602P [12]
Mel Gibson "Man Without a Face" glurge [13]
Kelsey Brooke Jones is missing [14] (only true for about two hours -- now old news)
CellSaver Virus Hoax [15]
SandMan www.oocities.org/vienna/6318 [16]
Win A Holiday [17]
The cookie story -- Mrs. Fields, Niemen Marcus, etc. [15]
Kidney thefts [19]
LITTLE JESSICA MYDEK [20]
LSD-laced "Blue Star" tattoos [21]
The AOL Good Times virus [22]

and, last but certainly not least

The all-time classic Craig Shergold cancer boy story [23]

All are key examples of misinformation that spreads throughout the Internet via e-mail (and I have seen all of these either in print or via e-mail).

We live in an age of misinformation. If you don't know and trust the source of your information, beware! Why trust what this message says? Because the sources are cited. Check them out and judge for yourself.

Tim Chambers (http://alum.mit.edu/www/tbc/) ><>

P.S. I've heard that even though the cookie story [18] is a myth, the recipe actually makes quite tasty cookies :-).

[ This document is http://www.oocities.org/tbchambers/vaccine.htm. ]

[1] http://www.liemails.com/
[3] http://urbanlegends.about.com/culture/urbanlegends/
[4] http://www.nonprofit.net/hoax/default.htm
[5] http://kumite.com/myths/
[6] http://www.google.com/search?q=sony+pro-abortion+christmas+album
[7] http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/weekly/aa040300a.htm
[8] http://www.urbanlegends.com/ulz/mmoh.html
[9] http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/weekly/aa050599.htm
[10] http://www.fcc.gov/mmb/enf/forms/rm-2493.html
[11] http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/kingerman_hoax.htm
[12] http://www.urbanlegends.com/ulz/emailtax.html
[13] http://www.snopes.com/glurge/noface.htm
[14] http://www.urbanlegends.com/ulz/kbj.html
[15] http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/cellsaver.hoax.html
[16] http://www.icsa.net/html/communities/antivirus/hoaxes/sandman.shtml
[17] http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/win.a.holiday.html
[18] http://www.urbanlegends.com/food/two-fifty/neiman-marcus.html
[19] http://urbanlegends.about.com/cs/kidneythieves/index.htm
[20] http://www.cancer.org/chain.html
[21] http://urbanlegends.com/classic/blue.star.tattoos/blue_star_lsd_faq.html
[22] http://www.public.usit.net/lesjones/goodtimes.html
[23] http://urbanlegends.com/classic/craig.shergold/

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