The Hoax

Newsgroups: misc.emerg-services
Posted to a group that has nothing to do with viruses.

WARNING!!! If you receive an e-mail titled "JOIN THE CREW" DO NOT OPEN IT!!!!!!!! It will erase EVERYTHING on your hard drive! Send this letter out to as many people you can...this is a new virus and not many people know about it.
Multiple exclamation marks, overuse of capitals, and a claim that it is from e-mail.

This information was received this morning from IBM, please share it with anyone who has acess to the Internet.
Reference to an organization, that has nothing to do with viruses, and a request to pass the hoax on further. Also, access is spelled wrong.

Also, if anyone receives mail entitled "PENPAL GREETINGS" DELETE it without reading it!! There is a dangerous virus propagation across the internet through an e-mail entitled "PENPAL GREETINGS"!!. The message appears to be friendly asking if you are interested in being a penpal but by the time you have read the letter it is too late. The "trojan horse" virus will have already infected the boot sector of your hard drive. It a self-replicating virus and once the message is read it will AUTOMATICALLY forward itself to ANTONE who's e-mail address is present in your mailbox! This virus has the potential to do a great deal of damage to computer networks worldwide
Same as the other one, but this one also has some nonsense technobabble added. ANYONE is spelled wrong.

Also immediately delete any Unable to deliver" messages WITHOUT opening it!!. AOL has stated that this is a VERY dangerous virus and there is NO remedy at this time! Please be carefull and forward this warning to everyone you know! This is NOT an ADVERTISMENT!! This is for REAL!
The message "Unable to deliver" means that the e-mail address you sent an e-mail to doesn't exist. It has nothing to do with a virus. Careful is spelled wrong. ADVERTISEMENT is spelled wrong.

Summary

  1. Posted to newsgroup(s) that have nothing to do with viruses. YES
  2. Multiple exclamation marks. YES
  3. Forwarded from somewhere else. YES
  4. A request to spread the warning further. YES
  5. Reference to the FCC or other place that has nothing to do with viruses. YES
  6. Claims you get it from reading email. YES
  7. Claims that it is undetectable or that there is no cure. YES
  8. Overly technical details that don't make sense. YES
  9. Spelling and grammar mistakes. YES
  10. Being self-contradictory. YES
This message displays 10 out of the 10 warning signs. Definitely a hoax.

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