[ This document is on the Web at
http://www.geocities.com/tbchambers/vaccine.txt. The hypertext
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http://www.geocities.com/tbchambers/vaccine.htm. ]
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.geocities.com/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 :-).
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[ This document is http://www.geocities.com/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/
Last updated: Wednesday, May 15, 2002
(
geocities.com/athens)