Hoax Museum Blog: Email Hoaxes

Al-Gebra Terrorist — Here's an email that's been making the rounds recently:
At Heathrow Airport today, an individual, later discovered to be a public
school teacher, was arrested trying to board a flight while in possession
of a compass, a protractor, and a graphical calculator. Authorities
believe he is a member of the notorious Al-Gebra movement.
He is being charged with carrying weapons of math instruction.
Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2003.   Comments (0)
Finger-Lickin — Apparently the old Kentucky Fried Chicken email hoax is still going around. I thought this one had died out ages ago. I guess the good ones never die out completely.
Posted: Thu May 29, 2003.   Comments (1)
Posted: Thu May 29, 2003.   Comments (1)
Applebees e-mail hoax — A lot of people have been getting this e-mail in their inboxes:

My name is Bill Palmer, founder of Applebees. In an attempt to get our name out to more people in the rural communities where we are not currently located, we are offering a $50 gift certificate to anyone who forwards this email to 9 of their friends. Just send this email to them and you will receive an email back with a confirmation number to claim your gift certificate. Sincerely Bill Palmer Founder of Applebees Visit us at: www.applebees.com. Hey guys, DONT DELETE THIS EMAIL It really works, I tried it and got my Gift certificate confirmation number in 3 minutes.

Yes, it's a hoax! As confirmed on Applebees own website. There's no way anyone is going to pay people money just for forwarding an e-mail.
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2002.   Comments (4)
Nigerian Bank Scam Sendup — Laddery on the High Seas. A funny send-up of the Nigerian Bank Scam, in which a couple of lads string-along a scammer.
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2002.   Comments (1)
Blue Peter Chain Letter — Beware the Blue Peter chain letter, should you ever receive it. It's a fake! (for Americans who don't know what Blue Peter is, it's a British tv show for kids). Some fear it may even provide encouragement to pedophiles.
Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2002.   Comments (0)
Email riot — A glitch in Wesleyan's email system sparked an e-mail riot when students realized that they were all plugged into a network that gave them access to the e-mail of every other student at the college.
Posted: Mon Sep 23, 2002.   Comments (0)
A credit to the human spirit — This letter has been doing the e-mail rounds. I don't think it's real.

Nice Letter

Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2002.   Comments (0)
No Coke after Aug. 31st — As the first anniversary of Sept. 11 approaches, I guess it's inevitable that the e-mail scare stories start up again. I remember that after Sept. 11 the big scare was that we weren't supposed to go to malls on Halloween. The new scare is that we're not supposed to drink Coke after August 31st. Good grief. I wouldn't believe this for a second. Here's the text of the e-mail that's going around:

This is from me, Amy M. Fairburn. What I was told today has lead me to warn everyone that I know, because each and every one of us deserves to live.My neighbor (Nancy Cavinee) informed me that her mother overheard some shockingnews, while awaiting to get her hair cut at a shop, just yesterday. The woman stated that while waiting in the check-out line at Wal-Mart, the lady before her was $1.00 short with her purchases, and she had no more money to cover it. The cashier insisted that she was short $1.00. The woman (from the shop) reached into her purse, handed the cashier the dollar and told her to give the lady her things. The lady waited outside of Wal-Mart for the woman to walk out, and stopped her. She thanked her very much for being so considerate as to help her out, and told her she wanted to return the favor. The Islamic lady told her not to drink any Coke after August 31st, and turned and quickly walked to her car where other Islamic women were waiting. They then drove off, and the woman was left standing there in Horror. Although she did not even think to get the license plate number of the vehicle, she did notify the police as soon as she got back to her senses. Whether you believe this or whether you don't, I would advise temporarily stopping the consumption of this beverage and any other like it, for the simple fact that September 11th is just around the bend, and we have no clue as to who, what, where, when , or how the next attack will present itself. It certainly is not going to kill any of us to revert to drinking iced tea, bottled water, or what have you, until this is clarified by the Government or local officials.Keep in mind that Zanesville, Ohio has a Coca-Cola plant, and it was there that this happened. BE SAFE! MAKE SENSIBLE DECISIONS FOR YOURSELVES AND YOUR FAMILIES! THIS IS NOT A JOKE. INFORM EVERYONE THAT YOU HAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS FOR. LET THEM CHOSE LIFE OR DEATH FOR THEMSELVES, BUT ATLEAST INFORM THEM!Thank You for your time, everyone!
Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2002.   Comments (2)
Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2002.   Comments (0)
NPR Funding Hoax — Good description in the Christian Science Monitor of the NPR Funding hoax. I've got this in my e-mail a couple of times. It's the one in which you're asked to sign a petition to help save NPR. It's not real, so don't sign the thing if you get it. The CSM article ends on a glum note: "It would be nice to think that Americans in the 21st century are too savvy and intelligent to get collectively hookwinked by hoaxes, pranks, or propaganda. Don't you believe it."
Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2002.   Comments (0)
Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2002.   Comments (6)
The Nigerian Bank Scam — For more info about the Nigerian Bank Scam, check out Douglas Cruickshank's article in Salon from August 2001 in which he delved into the strange, seductive poetry of the Bank Scam missives. David Emery also had a piece about them in SF Gate in March 2002, while Ian Kaplan has collected many examples of the scam. Finally, the Embassy of Nigeria actually has a statement on its website from the Central Bank of Nigeria warning people about the swindle.
Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2002.   Comments (0)
Interview with a Nigerian Bank Scammer — Wired also had a good article yesterday about the Nigerian Bank Scam, in which they interviewed a Nigerian student who actually used to compose the letters that were sent out to potential victims. The student says that the letters were purposefully designed to read like offbeat soap operas.
Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2002.   Comments (1)
Dr. Pepper Pledge of Allegiance — Got a few e-mails about the Dr. Pepper/Pledge of Allegiance issue that's circulating through e-mail. Here's the text of the e-mail that people are receiving:
Just sharing the info with you that I received!

For those who have not heard, the bottlers/manufacturers of Dr. Pepper and their other products, have started a "new" can campaign. They are putting patriotic scenes on them. One, is the Empire State Bldg. with the pledge of allegiance...but ... they left off the words..."under God". They felt it might "offend" some. I don't know about you, but as a Christian, I am boycotting their products! They said they didn't "have room" for those words, but yet they had room for "indivisible" on the can Please pass this along to others and see if we can get a message out to Dr.Pepper ....ifhaving "under God" on cans offends them, then they don't need our money with "in God we trust" on it!!!
It turns out that Dr. Pepper did quote part of the Pledge of Allegiance on a patriotically themed can, and they did leave out the phrase 'Under God.' But then they only quoted three words from the pledge: "One nation... indivisible." So they also left out all references to the flag, the republic, liberty, and justice.

Here's Dr. Pepper's official response to the controversy: Dr. Pepper
Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2002.   Comments (2)
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