Hi, and welcome to my Chain Letters and Hoaxes page. This page was inspired by an incident that recently happened to me. Because of the incident, I decided to expand my computer safety area, and talk a bit about chain letters, hoaxes, urban legends, and scams.
It all started a few days ago when I got an e-mail from my Mum. It was a forwarded e-mail about a virus disguised as a cute little screensaver. The e-mail warned folks not to open the file because the virus was especially deadly, and had no 'fix'. It further advised the recipient to go through their address book, and to send the message out to everyone they knew. I immediately realized that my Mum had been the victim of a chain letter hoax. I e-mailed her to let her know this, giving her information on how to spot a chain letter, or other hoax. I also sent her some links to some good sites on hoaxes, chain letters, and urban legends, and I'll provide those links here, as well.
I'll start with information about chain letters, since chain letters in themselves can encompass all of the above concerns--spam, scams, hoaxes, and urban legends--in just one letter!
Chain letters have been around for a long, long time, and they come in many forms. Basically, they have 3 components:
1. They tell you something fabulous, outlandish, or they pull at your heartstrings or your emotions. This could be anything from telling an incredible tale of luck or horror, (Urban Legend) to sending out fake virus warnings and other hoaxes, friendship poems or petitions.
2. They ask you to do something so that you'll have good results, too. This ALWAYS means SPAMMING--because they ask you to send the letter on to as many people as possible. This is the hallmark of a chain letter!
3. They threaten you with dire results if you don't do what the letter says. This can be anything from bad luck, or a loss of friendship, to death threats.
As you can see, a chain letter relies on two things (I call it the 2G's) for it to work--gullibility and guilt. After all, who wouldn't want that money fom Microsoft, that cool gift certificate from Applebee's, or to become filthy rich? Who wouldn't want friendship, or luck? Who wouldn't want people to know about the nasty virus going around, or what cruel-hearted person wouldn't want to sign the petition to help the women of Afghanistan, or help a dying child in a faraway place if they could? Besides, it's got to be true, because a trusted friend sent it, right? WRONG! My mum (who, though relatively new to the Internet, is a pretty smart cookie) sent her letter to me, and to others because the letter came from my brother, who is no dumb bunny, either! He simply fell neatly into a trap just like the rest of us who send on these types of things. Furthermore, who wants to die just because they didn't click on that FW button in their mail program? In hindsight, do you see how a chain letter can make even an Einstein look like Freddy, the Freaked-out Fool?
Chain letters are one thing only--a big, fat LIE! Even if within the letter, it says, "this is not a hoax", believe me, that's a sure sign that it is! Chain letters either won't give you the source of their information, or they will outright lie about it.
What can you do when you get a chain letter? The easiest thing to do is to simply delete it. Believe me, I've broken many a chain over the years, and I've not only lived to tell the tale, but I haven't suffered any bad luck, nor have I lost friends over it. If the letter is just convincing enough that you feel you have to click on that FW button, stop and think. Would Microsoft, who is in the business of making money, actually GIVE it away? Would the Red Cross, or any other charity who relies on donations, turn around and GIVE their hard earned money away to some anonymous spammer? If a pyramid scheme is illegal in the real world, what makes it any less illegal in cyberspace? If your common sense still hasn't persuaded you to click on the 'Delete' button, stop and do some research. If the letter is a virus warning, check the website of your antivirus program for information. If it mentions a company, organization, or charity, check their websites. Even better, go to the links below, and check on the information. These folks specialize in ferreting out urban legends and debunking hoaxes.
If you don't remember anything that I've said on this page, remember this "Dreadism": TIMANP--The Internet's Mouth Ain't No Prayerbook! What I mean is that anyone from a nuclear physicist to your 4 year old sister can put up a website, and the stuff that they put on it doesn't have to contain a grain of truth. There is no law that says that you must be truthful when you're on the 'Net!
Now, here are those links:
Chain Letters
Chain Letters--a simple explaination of chain letters
Break The Chain--Stop junk e-mail and misinformation.
Hoaxes and Scams
HoaxBusters--This site debunks all kinds of hoaxes.
Internet ScamBusters--This is a very good, and FREE e-zine that tells all about various scams, and how to protect yourself.
Symantec Security Response-Hoax Page--From the makers of Norton AntiVirus. This is a page of all the known virus hoaxes out there.
CDC Health Related Hoaxes and Rumors--Debunks all of those health hoaxes and rumors that you may have heard of. Brought to you by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Internet Crime Complaint Center--Report all manner of Internet scams at this site!
Urban Legends
Urban legends are tales that are passed on from person to person. They can be tales of incredible luck, horrifying events, or cautionary stories. Most are outright hoaxes, while some may contain a grain of truth. These links will help sort out truth from fiction.
Urban Legends Reference Page--From snopes.com, the best source on the Internet for this kind of stuff.
Urban Legends and Folklore--From about.com, another great source.
Purportal.com--The bunk stops here!
I hope that you found my Chain Letter and Hoax Page to be useful and informative. Keep coming back for more tips. You can either go back to my Computer Privacy page, my Phishing page, the Resource page, or go back home, and see the rest of my house.
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