HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content

MONEY LAUNDERING AND FLESH-EATING BACTERIA: E-MAIL HOAXES UNCOVERED
Not too long ago, a friend forwarded an e-mail message to me explaining proposed legislation to levy a 5-cent tax on every e-mail sent. The collected taxes then would be given to the U.S. Postal Service to make up for revenue lost due to the proliferation of electronic mail. The message ended by imploring me to contact my congressional representative to voice opposition to the proposal.

The message was, of course, a hoax. If you send and receive e-mail, you’ve probably gotten hoax messages from well-meaning friends and associates. You even may have sent out a few yourself, believing them to be authentic.

Some hoax messages seek to defraud the recipient with a bogus business opportunity or other scam. Messages from a sender claiming to be a Nigerian government official say you will be rewarded handsomely for the use of your bank account in laundering millions of dollars; all you need to do is forward your account number. Several years ago, a widespread e-mail asked recipients to call a telephone number in area code 809 to resolve an "outstanding account." Anyone unfortunate enough to call the number incurred $25-per-minute phone charges.

Another common e-mail hoax is the phony computer virus warning. These messages generally are harmless but usually request that the recipient forward the message to as many people as possible. A widespread "virus bulletin" that began in 1994 and continues to proliferate warns recipients not to download any messages, files or attachments with the name "Good Times." A more recent hoax provides directions for removing from your computer a "virus" file named "sulfnbk.exe", which actually is a harmless Microsoft Windows system file.

Even if you’ve never received messages such as these, chances are you’ve gotten hoaxes of a more ridiculous variety. Some promise that a company will donate money to a charity for each person to whom you forward the message. Another warns of bananas from Costa Rica that are contaminated with "flesh-eating bacteria." A more disturbing message features a doctored "last photo" supposedly taken from the top of the World Trade Center just seconds before Sept. 11th’s tragic events unfolded in real life.

If you are sent a message you believe to be a hoax and want to find out more about it, there are several useful online resources.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s HoaxBusters site at "hoaxbusters. ciac.org" has an extensive database of e-mail hoax information and also addresses the risks associated with hoaxes and what to do if you receive a hoax message.

ScamBusters.org at "www.scambusters.org" provides up-to-date information on e-mail and Internet scams and hoaxes; you also can subscribe to the Scam-Busters e-mail newsletter.

Finally, for detailed information on bogus e-mail virus warnings, visit Symantec’s Security Response site at "securityresponse.symantec. com". Follow the "Hoaxes" link in the "Reference Area" at the bottom of the page for a comprehensive list of phony virus alerts.

Reported by Joe Hoyle, electronic media editor, "hoylej{at}ada.org".

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content