©99 - 2012 The Media Desk
also see below for public domain info
DAMNIT The Desk's answer to somebody that clicks on spam emails to "see what they've got".
A new 419 Scam Letter NOTE: the "anti drug/terrorist clearance certificate" is part of the scam!
New (old) 419 scam letter- The FBI Nigerian Scam Letter is Back!. The 419 SCAM is alive and well!
The SCAM Keeps going and going... The Islamic Version of the 419 Letter, The State Of The Scam 2005, 419 Identity Theft Offer- The STOP ORDER letter. MS Chat version, Hong Kong version, Church Donation Letter, African (Afghani) Cash Transfer and Two New 419 letters, Additional 419 scam letters, 9/11 419 tie-in.
Links Cleaned Up Jan/08 all are working as of that date.
The DESK has several friends that email in all sorts of stuff that floats around the net. Virus scares, rumors, innuendo, and even the 'email from HELL'.
First off, Hell's ISP has been down for at least the last two millennia, so that one is a very touching story that has even been read from church pulpits, but it ain't a genuine e-mail from the Underworld. Sorry to ruin your day.
As for the others, in no particular order...
Note: All Outside Links will open in a new window. Report any links that die to the Desk. dr_leftover(-at-)themediadesk(-dot-)com
A funny one: "... and Whomsoever Thou spamist shall Curse You."
The Desk has seen the resolution you get on most celphone cameras. On most, from about six feet away from a credit card you'd be lucky to tell what brand of card it was "VISA, AmEx, Etc" Let alone read the numbers. But still it is a good idea to be aware of your surroundings, instead of mindlessly babbling into a celphone while in a store or gas station. And if somebody gets close enough to you to try to take a picture with a phone of you or your credit card, the Desk at least would reply with something rather direct and most likely, impolite. The message is, Pay Attention and take care of yourself and your information. And Don't panic over every hoax spam email that comes through the checkout.
CBS reported this type of identification theft is one of the fastest growing scams today. Be aware of your surroundings, forward to all your friends and family. [NOTE: The Desk does NOT work for CBS or VISA, but is pursuing a UNILATERAL WAR ON spam without asking Barbara Streisand's permission. Thank You
The Desk Got spamBOMBED! see the article with links.
Well well well... a New Word has entered the English Language... 'Offertizement'.
Now for where the HOAX came from...
If this came from 'someone at work'. Send it back to them, because they may have written it. Call it a HOAX... and a poor taste one at that.
-and-
"L'an mil neuf cens nonante neuf sept mois, Du ciel viendra un gran Roy d'effrayeur.
Resusciter le grand Roy d'Angolmois.
Avant apres Mars regner par bon heur."
"The year 1999, seventh month, [or simply "sept"]
From the sky will come a great King of Terror. To bring back to life the great King of the Mongols,
Before and after Mars to reign by good luck. "
The US Diplomatic Mission to Nigeria
http://usembassy.state.gov/nigeria/wwwho419.html
The 419 Coalition Website with news and updates.
Nigerian Scam Task Force.
Shortened version of the spam below.
Eleanor Roosevelt wrote:
But, right now, having CBS Reports in the title is hardly a credibility bell ringer. The story has gotten wide play and has been on the news in several local markets, whether or not it ever aired on CBS or any nationwide network is unclear, the Desk could not readily find any reference to the story on CBS, CNN or any of the other major outlets.
The email says thieves are using camera phones to steal credit card numbers at the checkout in retail stores. It sounds like something crooks would do… but… Welll.... maybe not.
Good bit from the famous SNOPES.com http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/phonecam.asp
More from Urban Legends at About.com http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_camera_cell_phone.htm
Again, thank you sir for keeping the Desk up to date on the War on spam and HOAXES.
Panic Riddled Email Warning Below:
CBS Report
Keep a watch out for people standing near you in the checkout line at retail stores, restaurants, grocery stores, etc who have a camera cell phone in hand.
With the camera cell phones, they can take a picture of your credit card, which gives them your name, number, and expiration date.
Re: Question
Bob- Thanks for the tip sir.
Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2003
Is it a hoax, or true, that if you send an email with all of your friends email addresses visible, you and/or they can become the victims of a stalker? There was a story of a lady who supposedly was being stalked without her knowledge until the guy was threatening to rape and/or kill her, and he knew everything about her, etc. Please let me know if this is a hoax. Thanks!!
Bob G.
Excite.com address
Unfortunately however, the desk cannot give you a definitive answer. And none of the sources it checked out can either. Using directories and intense searches you can identify somebody by their email or the originating IP address in the email's headers, if you know how, and have a lot of time to do it.
Could somebody do this and discover somebody's real identity and then go after them in the mundane world? Well, yeah, there is nothing stopping anybody from doing that. And in fact, it HAS happened. And according to Cnet at least one case of Cyber Stalking is going to trial.
So... what to do? The simple answer is, either Blind Copy (BCC) when you forward stuff and cut out all the previous three dozen email addresses that were in it when you got it, OR simply don't forward stuff.
As for the email spam warning you are referring to....
Snopes.com say it is at least "Plausible" that this can, or did, happen.
Truth or Fiction thinks it is a good idea to use BCC if you must forward blessing poems and things.
Blind Carbon Copy
Again... Thanks for the note, hope some of this helps.
The Phoenix Police Department has disavowed all connection to the Email.
http://phoenix.gov/POLICE
From HOAXBUSTERS sponsored by the US Department of Energy's CIAC office. hoaxbusters.ciac.org
From the famous SNOPES.COM www.snopes.com
And from Truth or Fiction's archives truthorfiction.com
This one is one of the worst types of hoaxes going. It can actually cost somebody their life. There is only one or two rare heart conditions which result in an irregular heartbeat where coughing in a certain way can help to restore the beat to normal. EVERY OTHER HEART CONDITION GOING... actual Heart Attacks, the Desk's own Non-Specific Chest Pain, and Angina and all the others REQUIRE medication and treatment by qualified medical personnel such as EMTs and MDs. NOT some half-baked Urban Legend spam email HOAX!
Thank you Carol at Yahoo for bringing this outrage to the Desk's attention.
A good article about it. And the page on the American Heart Association Site
[Quote of SCAM spam Email]
Offertizements.com has teamed up with FoundMoney to help you locate and claim your lost CASH. And the amount on that check, OR MORE, literally be YOURS for the claiming.
[End of Email. Further Note... Email was copied as received. Complete with misspelling.]
This is not a contest or a promotion. FoundMoney is a search service dedicated to putting UNCLAIMED MONEY together with its rightful owners.
There are 31 million North American people eligible right now to claim unknown cash windfalls. The search is Fast, Easy and GAURANTEED
Actually... Scam Spam by any other name.
What this is is nothing more than an attempt to separate you from some of your money for them to do something that is essentially a Free Service by various Secretaries of State, banks, and even newspapers. Every so often different agencies escheat offices will put out multi-page ads advertising abandoned property, unclaimed tax refunds, idle bank accounts and so on. If you think you might have outstanding money, property, or whatever... START LOOKING! Don't pay this outfit to do it for you. Most likely, they won't find anything for you, never mind what Oprah's show said (Funny how her name keeps coming up on these things ain't it?), but you will find they cashed your check anyway.
Read the REBUTTAL from Lt. Herb!
Well... This one had been forwarded so many times by the time a Desk Reader sent it in the email program chopped the terrifying warning off.
But it didn't take too much searching to find the subject on the web. There have been several variations on the theme running around for several years. Supposedly mascara has insect parts in it, blush is made with hog blood, and all sorts of nastiness is committed in the name of beauty.
Well, hold onto your henna rinse, but some products used to have some rather unpleasant ingredients in them. And there are a few, Many of them flying the All Natural or Organic flag that still do- Nevermind the hype, animal blood is Natural! But now, most products are made with slightly more mundane things, and most are simply chemicals.
Most lipstick doesn't contain lead, or anything else more dangerous than wax and oil and a few colors.
The Famous SNOPES looks at the email: http://www.snopes.com/toxins/lipstick.asp
Other cosmetics are made from all sorts of things, but none are radioactive or known to cause your skin to peel off, unless you happen to be allergic to something in it, which can happen with anything. For the matter right from Uncle's Mouth http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cos-hdb2.html The Food and Drug Administration.
http://www.bodyfueling.com/ARTICLES/SkinCare3.html [sorry, the Desk cannot bring itself to link to them.]
The Bodyfueling site is nothing more than a shill for an herbalist and friends who are all into selling an organic vegetarian lifestyle and political activism supported by either shoddy or non-existent science. They state their case as if because something is made from a coal or petroleum by-product you are going to burst into flames if you use it.
OK, sure, rubbing a handful of coal dust on their face isn't something most women would be wont to do. But various substances refined from coal and even crude oil, have been used quite successfully for hundreds of years as both makeup and even as medication. The Bodyfueling people will most likely claim that petroleum jelly will cause everything from birth defects to hangnails if you even have an unopened jar in your medicine cabinet.
Science Note: Baby Oil and Mineral Oil (basically the same thing) are the lighter compounds refined from crude oil, varying only slightly in purity and the filtering out of heavier compounds. Petroleum jelly, white and otherwise, are heavier ones that congeal at room temperature. Both have been used for many years and are very effective for their common uses. And petroleum jelly is back in favor for the later stages of burn treatment to keep the damaged skin from drying out as the wound heals a few days after the initial first aid treatment of cool water and pain killers.
Many of the Bodyfueling site's articles are nothing more than panic pieces and over reaction to the news of the day with the final goal of selling their products: see the Mad Cow page which soon turns into a vegetarian sermon with links to vegan pages and their shopping department.
Sorry Bodyfueling, the Desk isn't Advertising or Selling anything, so it has no agenda other than promoting honest information and truthful resources.
"In the year of the new century and nine months,
From the sky will come a great King of Terror...
The sky will burn at forty-five degrees.
Fire approaches the great new city..."
"In the city of york there will be a great collapse,
2 twin brothers torn apart by chaos
while the fortress falls the great leader will succumb
third big war will begin when the big city is burning"
The quatrain quoted is made up of at least two others that the French Prophet did write.
from Nostradamus's prophecies:
See this Nostradamus web site for info and how the spam was put together. http://www.goroadachi.com/etemenanki/
"The sky will burn at forty-five degrees latitude, Fire approaches the great new city: Immediately a huge scattered flame leaps up, When they want to have verification from the Normans. ", C6 Q97.
Century 10, Quatrain 72
Please stop forwarding this nonsense. Thank you.
It's just going to get worse as Internet Companies try to make their WEB presence's pay for themselves. Pop-up ads, ever more irritating banners, and more complicated click through menus will become more common. And as the cost of maintaining a Web Site goes up, so will the ad sales, and the impact those ads have on your browsing experience. To catch your eye, the advertisers have to be ever more creative, assertive, innovative, and yes, annoying, abrasive, intrusive, and all like that way. What can we, the browsing public, do? Ignore ads we don't like. Click on ones we do. Sooner or later, the advertisers will get the idea. Remember when all the commercials were in black and white because it was new and different? It ain't new and different once eighty percent of the commercials are like that. Soon it will be old hat, and something else will come up. Like... stuff that's in good taste and pleasant. Nah... that's asking too much.
-Text of Email-
From: Anyyi Babah [anyyibab***@y***.c***]
These are simply new retreads of an old HOAX.
Subject: ATTENTION
14 NIMO STREET,
NEW HAVEN, ENUGU,
{VERY URGENT BUSINESS TRANSACTION}
GREETINGS
IN ORDER TO TRANSFER OUT (USD 26 MILLION DOLLARS)
FROM OUR BANK. I HAVE THE COURAGE TO ASK YOU TO LOOK FOR A RELIABLE AND HONEST PERSON WHO WILL BE CAPABLE FOR THIS IMPORTANT BUSINESS BELIEVING THAT YOU WILL NEVER LET ME DOWN EITHER NOW OR IN FUTURE.
I AM CHIEF ANYYI BABA, THE EASTERN DISTRICT BANK
MANAGER OF UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC. (UBA). THERE IS AN ACCOUNT OPENED IN THIS BANK IN 1980 AND SINCE 1990 NOBODY HAS OPERATED ON THIS ACCOUNT AGAIN. AFTER GOING THROUGH SOME OLD FILES IN THE RECORDS I DISCOVERED THAT IF I DO NOT REMITT THIS MONEY OUT URGENTLY IT WILL BE FORFEITED FOR NOTHING......
[QUOTE OF NEWER SCAM spam]
FR: MRS SUSAN BROWN.
SAVE OUR SOULS.
I am a widow from Angola.I am currently residing in the Togo Republic with my family.This is as a result of the civil war in my country which resulted to the death of my husband and my first daughter.
You were introduced to me by a very close foreign associate who assured me of your readiness to assist my family in my investment venture. She gave me your particulars and asked me to contact you immediately.
The issue is that i am a widow with children who inherited a legal WILL to the value of $27.7 Million from my late husband. I wish to invest this sum in your company or any other profitable business to be guided by you.You are the last hope of this family in this business venture as was suggested by my friend. My main motive of contacting you was because of the political stability and security to life and property in your country. I will appreciate company with stability and growth potentials,alsowith minimal tax deductionsfor foreign investors.
I will be very willing to send to you my family profiles as soon as i receive your acceptance mail. You should please send to me your company and personal profiles, including some investment hints in your country.Thanks for your prompt reply and you should please send your reply to
my Email address above.
MRS SUSAN.
There may actually be a Chief Anyyi Babah, but he did not send this email, he does not want to transfer you any money, and in fact, if you respond to this email, it will end up costing you money as you pay for a 'transfer' fee or something. Nobody knows if there really is a widow in Angola or anywhere else, and it really doesn't matter... it's a SCAM!
NEW LINK Canadian Anti-Fraud Group http://www.phonebusters.com/ In association with the RCMP. The 419 SCAM Keeps going and going... 419 Identity Theft Offer! The STOP ORDER letter. 3 Nigerians have been sent to JAIL in Canada for the SCAM! See the news on the 419 Website The SCAM is still going strong with the 'desperate white farmers' as well as the touching 'widow letter'. If you have any questions check out the US Secret Service or the Better Business Bureau.
See the Mormon Version of the same scam at the BBB.
As with all spam and HOAXES, please simply delete it and do not forward it. Additional 419 scam letters
Well, the touching story about the kid that prevents 'the kid with glasses' from committing suicide is very sweet, and very untrue. It was originally published as fiction, although you can be sure something similar has happened many times. How that got attached to the supposed quotes from Mrs. Roosevelt, as in some forms of the spam email, is one of those mysteries of the Internet. Yet it did. And as far as can be told, Eleanor never actually said any of them (page has good links as well). Add that to the fact that there is no 'National Friendship Week' and you have a nice three layer spam sandwich.
So bottom line- The story is made up and the quotes are a lie. Some test of friendship trying to get people to forward that, eh?
One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books.
I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd."
I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), So I shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.
His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes.
My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives."
He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!" There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.....
[much glurge deleted to save space ]
Many people will walk in and out of your life,
But only true friends will leave footprints in your heart
To handle yourself, use your head;
To handle others, use your heart.
Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is mystery. Today is a gift
It's National friendship week...
And from the famousSnopes.com
And the Eleanor Roosevelt project at www.gwu.edu/
Subject: FW: Don't take this lightly! Forwarded by Mary Kim Corley/MCD/HQ/BOC on 07/20/01 08:40 AM This is something I received from the MD State Police. Please read this "very carefully" ... then send it out to all the people online that you know. Something like this is nothing to take casually; this is something you DO want to pay attention to. Think of it as a bit of advice too. If a person with the screen-name of Slavemaster contacts you, do not reply. DO not talk to this person; do not answer any of his/her instant Messages or e-mail. Whoever this person may be, he/she is a suspect for murder in the death of 56 women (so far) contacted through the Internet. Please send this to all the women on your buddy list and ask them to pass this on, as well. This screen-name was seen on Yahoo, AOL, and Excite, so far. This is not a joke! Please send this to men too...just in case! Send to every one you know! Ladies, this is serious. Cut and paste this from its long forward list. Please check and make sure to forward to anyone I have not included on my list. Thank you, Shar[name deleted] Recorder II-FVSU > Phone#: (478) [deleted][end quote]
There WAS a grain of truth to this one. There was a sicko on the Net, he was linked to TWO murders and wanted for questioning in a couple more (not 56 by a long shot). But this was in June of 2000. In Kansas, not Maryland. And this guy wasn't the only one to use the name Slavemaster. Links to more: About.com Urban Legend Page. And Urbanlengends.com.
OK, here's some common sense. No... you CAN do Common Sense on the Internet. See Common Sense
Anyway.... DO NOT give out your Real Name and Address to just anybody on the Net. Don't believe everything you read in a chatroom. In fact, break yourself of the endless mindless chat habit.
Anybody can be Anybody on the Net. And some of them are killers and scam artists. And some of them are FBI agents looking for the killers and scammers. And a lot of them are just panic stricken talk show watchers or spammers who enjoy freaking people out. But there are a few others out there. Just a few.
And one of the others is the Desk who is trying to warn you before you run into any of them.
"Donna worked the bombing site. She recently received an excerpt of Timothy McVeigh's book, and this is her response:The Desk called the OKC Memorial People and asked them about this.
Dear Friends,
I will not forward the excerpt from the book that has been written by two reporters and a couple of shrinks about Tim McVeigh. It was sent to me by someone I respect, and I have checked it out to be sure that the quote was accurate. And it was...
I fully expected to read this book. I wanted to know a lot of things. And, I believe that the book is accurate account of what Tim McVeigh has said. I wanted to know why he picked Oklahoma City."
OK, for the record, sit up and take notice. This is THE VERY FIRST of these things that the desk has checked out that is actually FOR REAL!e-mail: okcnmem@ionet.net
phone: (405) 235-3313
fax: (405) 235-3315Oklahoma City National Memorial
P.O. Box 323
Oklahoma City, OK 73101
I did not know about the clear button, but I will be pushing the clear button before I swipe my gas or debit card and after just to be safe. People are getting really desperate due to the constantly rising gas prices.
A friend just told me about something that happened to one of his coworkers. She used her credit/debit card to purchase gas at the pump (like most of us do). She received her receipt like normal.
However, when she checked her statement, there were 2 $50.00 charges added in addition to her purchase. Upon investigation, she found out that because she did not press the 'clear' button on the pump, the employee inside the store was able to use her card to purchase his/her own gas!
To keep this from happening, after you get your receipt, you must press the 'CLEAR' button or your information will be stored until the next customer inserts their card. Be sure to tell all your friends/family so that this doesn't happen to them. I had never noticed the clear button but I got gas the other day and sure enough it is there. I shall be using it from now on.
This is probably the poem known as Death of an Innocent or I Went to a Party, Mom - it is commonly sent as an email forward and seems like an "online petition."Yes indeed. It is spam. Do not send it to MADD, do not forward it, DELETE it.
This email is not endorsed by MADD.
While the petition you received probably began with good intentions, MADD did not initiate the campaign. Some variations of the e-mail use language that we feel to be inappropriate. Moreover, the e-mail asked you to act in a manner that does little to advance the fight against drunk driving.
check it out at MADD under their About Us page.
"THOUGH SHE'S DEAD AND HAS JUST BEEN LOCATED, AFTER 5 YEARS, THIS LADY CONTINUES TO HAUNT US FROM HER SHALLOW GRAVE. GET THIS: CBS will be forced to discontinue "Touched by an Angel" for using the word God in every program. Madeline Murray O'Hare, an atheist, successfully managed to eliminate the use of Bible reading from public schools a few years ago.Let's let the FCC do the talking here....
Now her organization has been granted a Federal Hearing on the same subject by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Washington, DC Their petition, Number 2493, would ultimately pave the way to stop..."
"A rumor has been circulating since 1975 that Madalyn Murray O'Hair, a widely known, self-proclaimed atheist, proposed that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) consider limiting or banning religious programming. This rumor is not true. It also has been circulated repeatedly that Ms. O'Hair was granted an FCC hearing to discuss that proposal. This too is untrue." From the FCC website.So when your very religious, very concerned, very sincere friends send this to you, send them this link. "Yes, angel girl, it's a HOAX!"
By Paul Harvey - Conveniently Forgotten Facts Back in 1969 a group of Black Panthers decided that a fellow black panther Alex Rackley needed to die. Rackley was suspected of disloyalty. Rackley was first tied to a chair. Once safely immobilized, his friends tortured him for hours by, among other things, pouring boiling water on him.[end of email]
---
How in the world do you think these killers got off so easy? Maybe it was in some part due to the efforts of two people who came to the defense of the Panthers.
---
The other Panther defender was, like Lee, a radical law student at Yale University at the time. She is now known as The "smartest woman in the world." She is none other than the Democratic senator from the State of New York, Hillary Clinton. And now, as Paul Harvey said; You know "the rest of the story".
Wishful thinking may play a part in this one... but it is a hoax.
Maybe they thought by attaching Paul Harvey's name to it it'd be taken seriously. It has made the rounds a dozen times, and has even been posted to news websites, but... it seems too good to be true... sooo...
PLEEEASE stop sending this one around....
Best source: http://www.urbanlegends.com
-ALSO- Hillary and the Gold Star Moms.
Once again, a wishful thinking / too good to be true HOAX. See the note on the www.goldstarmoms.com Website for the truth. And please don't forward it any more.
"Beware of (virus name). Do not open an email from (various names). (name) will erase your hard drive and mess up your hair. New Virus with NO CURE! (Upgrade Internet 2)" Almost ninety percent of these are HOAXES. There are real viruses (worms, Trojans, macros) out there. 'Hybris' under various names is still running strong and showing up here and there so the 'Snow White Story' may actually contain a virus. But the 'Bud Frogs Screensaver', the 'Free Cel Phone', the 'Sandman Web Site', and a plethora of others, and their 'family photos', are hoaxes. Most people forward these things with the 'better safe than sorry' attitude, however that just perpetuates the hoax. Which is why the DESK checks them out, then returns the email to its sender with the information from any of several anti-virus centers. If it happens to check out as a real virus, that information is also sent back to the sender. That happens, on average, once out of every twenty to thirty emails. Read the warning below for more information.
VIRUS TIPS If you think it might be a Virus. Delete it! Then Empty your email trash bin. Do not open spam emails, do not open attachments you were not expecting without contacting the sender to verify its contents. Procure and use an anti-virus program such as the 'McAffee', 'Norton', 'F-Secure' products. Visit the CERT web site for information on computer bugs or Email the Desk with questions: dr_leftover(-at-)themediadesk(-dot-)com or one of the Desk's other accounts here and there.
spam MAIL TIPS Do Not Reply to it. Do NOT click on the link that says 'To Be Removed' either. Any, yes ANY, response to the mail indicates that: 1. Your email address works. 2. You read your mail. 3. You reply to it. That information is worth its weight in electrons to the spammers. The Desk receives email about once a week offering 50,000 working email addresses for $19.95. Guess where they compiled that list? From replies to spam, as well as buying mailing lists from catalogs and email services. Even the vaunted HOTMAIL (microsoft- see below) has sold its soul to the spammers for a price. What to do with it? Delete it unopened and unread. "What if it's something I really want?" You don't. If you want to check out low prices on a cruise line, go to their web site, hit travel magazine sites, travel agents, and people like that. Same with other goods and services. It is safe to say that nothing you get unsolicited in your email box is worthwhile, and many are outright rip-offs, misrepresentations, and frauds. And the Desk is sure it will get an email from somebody that actually did buy a car for nineteen dollars from an email offer. OK, that's one. How many spam emails did you get last week? Try your Block Sender/Filter Bulk Mail option on your mail server. It'll knock out a lot of them. Just delete the rest. Here's another link to Mr. Gates' essay MICROSOFT Bill.
It was reported by a Scottish paper in 1994 and is available from several "News of the Strange" type sites all over the web.
Email below:
It might "Take guts to say Jesus" but it takes more to say "HOAX-spam!". Not only is this a hoax, its an old one, and every time it comes around somebody will send it to you because, "it's better to be safe than sorry. Well, no, sorry. It's better to THINK than to forward spam.
The Virus Removal People F-Secure say it all:
"There is no virus by this name. However, there is a widespread hoax message of an e-mail virus by this name. Such virus does not exist. Do not forward the hoax warning." http://www.f-secure.com LINK UPDATED 9/2005
The info at Break the Chain http://www.breakthechain.org
If you receive an email titled: "It Takes Guts to Say Jesus" DO NOT OPEN IT. It will erase everything on your hard drive. This information was announced yesterday morning from IBM; AOL states that this is a very dangerous virus, much worse than "Melissa," and that there is NO Remedy for it at this time. Some very sick individual has succeeded in using the reformat function from Norton Utilities causing it to completely erase all documents on the hard drive. It has been designed to work with Netscape Navigator and ! Microsoft Internet Explorer. It destroys....
From the McAfee Anti-Virus website: The !0000 Hoax is mainly circulating in the Netherlands. The e-mail content contains a "trick" how to prevent/stop mass-mailing routines used by e-mail viruses/worms. Basically the idea mentioned is to use a dummy !0000 e-mail contact address, so without an actual associated e-mail address, which would fail when accessed by a mass-mailer, thus giving the user the option to stop/block the mass-mailing. Now the trick might work for a few viruses, it won't stop the majority of the mass-mailers.
From a friend of the desk:
Know anything about an e-mail stating people need to delete some kind of executable file that has a teddy bear icon next to it from their hard drive? Is it Hoax or not?
The file has a weird name like fdsgb.exe or something like that.- Deidre
Well... Like the SULFNBK.EXE hoax last year... Yes, this is a Valid File which runs javascript which you will find on your computer. The Desk's didn't have the teddy bear icon, but oh well. A co-worker's co-worker did find it, and deleted it before she checked with anybody. Such is life.
Good information on this hoax at several of the Anti-Virus websites including Norton Anti Virus
Here's the news report version:
To support her ample frame, Berbel Zumner, 23, had to wear a bra reinforced with metal wires. These conducted a bolt of lightning which killed her as she was walking through a park in Vienna. Daily Record (Scotland) - 21 October 1994
It is slightly different from the email but the underlying story is true. The bit about the surgeon general was evidently added for the US edition.
Thanks Buggy
It seems that a woman named Berbel Zumner was killed at age 23 while walking through a park in Vienna. You see, Berbel was one of those women that many refer to as "well endowed". She wore a bra with metal underwire to support her ample frame. As we all know, metal wire and lightning just don't go together. As a result, Berbel was zapped and killed.
End email
They better start putting warnings from the U.S. Surgeon General on these contraptions."Incredible but true! We are giving away 2 Round-Trip Airline Tickets and 2 FREE HOTEL NIGHTS. Whether you decide to fly to Hawaii, Paris, Florida, California, Mexico or other fabulous destinations, you've got 2 airline tickets coming your way ABSOLUTELY FREE. And to insure this is one of the best offers on the Web, we will also give you a BONUS 2 FREE hotel nights! With free airfare and free hotel nights, it's like getting two vacations! It's no wonder this has been called one of the best giveaways on the Web. To get your FREE airline tickets and hotel nights, fill out the form below, and start packing! You'll receive everything you need to reserve your airline tickets, confirm your reservations and select dates." ... "If you choose not to continue with the program's savings beyond the trial period, simply call the toll-free number provided in your membership kit to cancel. Otherwise, the $96.00 annual membership fee will be charged to your (credit card)"
Incredible but true... SCAM spam. On the form to get your 'free vacation' and all the other goodies, they ask for your home address and phone number, birthdate, CREDIT CARD INFORMATION, and admit they are going to charge you four bucks for 'processing' then in the fine print they tell the truth about the ninety-six dollars. Most likely. They are only going to process even more charges onto your card and the only thing free you'll get is some 'you people' calls from bill collectors. This Is A SCAM! See below and here SCAM spam and other fun for more info.
United States, India, Pakistan.
It's a shame they send this spam SCAM to anybody in Pakistan, India, or even Easter Island. Yes, boys and girls, it is a SCAM. Straight rip off, put on a brave face and kiss your five grand good bye.
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"THE DAFFODIL PRINCIPLE ...Some may question this little story, OK, the Desk did. But it is TRUE!!!!
Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead. "I will come next Tuesday,"...
There were five acres of flowers. "But who has done this?" I asked Carolyn. "It's just one woman," ...
Anything entitled COPYRIGHT VIOLATION gets the Desk's attention. Fortunately however, this one was merely a clarification of an attribution on something that has been floating around as an email for the last several months.
Here's the whole thing... with information and links... from a reader on the Left Coast. Thanks Cynth... please continue to keep the Desk on its toes.
Date: Wednesday, 24 April 2002 14:30:26 -0700
From: Cynth
To: drleftover
Subject: The Daffodil Principle: copyright violationDear Dr. Leftover,
I've received "The Daffodil Principle" forwarded to me several times, and it has always irritated me for its smarminess. One day, I got curious about whether it was true, and all the following info is what I've discovered.
What's even more irritating is that people think it's OK or righteous to violate Edwards' copyrighted work by distributing it everywhere. It's been published in newsletters posted to many websites as though it were in the public domain.
On this page http://www.themediadesk.com/files/urban.htm#daffodil you state:
"The story itself is in 'Chicken Soup for the Gardener's Soul' and was contributed by Jaroldeen Edwards."
The attribution is true, but the provenance is false; it was published in Edward's own book _Things I Wish I'd Known Sooner: Personal Discoveries of a Mother of Twelve_ (Pocket Books, 1997). The book is out of print, and Edwards has never received any compensation for the illegal distribution of her copyrighted essay via Internet or newsletter. http://www.addall.com/Browse/Detail/0671551078.html and Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field- author=Edwards%2C%20Jaroldeen/002-1034182-5520018
I went to Amazon and viewed the Table of Contents for _Chicken Soup for the Gardener's Soul_ and nowhere is there any mention of Edwards or "The Daffodil Principle" in that book. Whoever claimed that as the source may have been confusing it with another book, _Sunshine for the Latter-Day Saint Mother's Soul_. (Edwards was a Mormon and wrote several books about her spiritual life as an LDS member.)
You also state: "The park full of Daffodils is actually called Smilly Park in Lake Arrowhead."
The park is spelled Smiley Park, probably after philanthropist Albert K. Smiley. www.bigbearchamber.com/direct.htmSee photos of the Daffodil Garden at Smiley Park (no hand-lettered signs, however): http://www.cfmsinc.org/Photos/ddweb/ddil.htm
About the woman -- Gene Bauer -- who planted the flowers: http://doityourself.com/flowers/paintingwithflowers.htm
Bauer's address and a message claiming that 2 fires have killed many of the daffodils: Mrs. Gene Bauer's Daffodil Garden c/o St. Ann's Catholic Church 30480 Fredalba Rd. Running Springs CA 92382 http://www.holisticpractitionersnetwork.com/Articles/daffodil_principle.htmCheers,
Cynth
San Diego
Further Email Exchange:Dear Cynth....Dear Dr. Leftover, Thanks! You're way cool. I hereby grant my article on "The Daffodil Principle" to the public domain. Edit it as you please. Best wishes, -Cynth
If you don't mind... the Desk would like to violate your copyright and post your correction to the article including the correct attribution for the original story.Cynth.
Consider yourself violated.
Thanks a lot for the help in the war on ignorance and spam.
Leftover.
Selah
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