Thu, 9. July 2009
Chain E-mails
I have received many chain e-mails but I have never forwarded one on - not even once - but some people just can't help themselves. A lot of people in fact. They just have to pass them on but never ever think about checking the facts first.
Someone recently questioned the veracity of a particular chain e-mail. It discussed a sick child and went on to say that by forwarding the e-mail to every friend in your address book, you would 'earn' four cents per e-mail to assist the child's welfare. Questioning this was a very sensible thing to do, as quite patently there is no mechanism that could possibly make it happen. It was correctly suspected as a hoax because of it's financial aspect and it did not take me long to verify that it was, even though the child did exist.
Amazingly, a few weeks later the same person also passed on a chain e-mail. It was of a religious nature, complaining about a Petition # 2493 to the US Federal Communications Commission, allegedly attempting to place restrictions on religious tv broadcasting. The e-mail asked everyone to sign a 'petition' of their own, at the bottom of the e-mail and 'pass it on to all your friends'. When the number of 'signatures' reaches 1000, the next recipient should send a copy of the 'petition' with 'signatures' to a 'Lisa Norman' at electricyello@hotmail.com then start the 'petition over again. The e-mail reached our house, complete with 835 'signatures', without question of it's veracity by those 835 people, presumably because of it's religious content - which as we all know, is always beyond question.
I quickly found confirmation that this e-mail was a hoax that has been circulating for twelve years. I sent a blank test message to the Hotmail address where the 1000 'signatures' were to go. I was not surprised when it bounced back undeliverable. No such address existed. Next I checked and found that Petition # 2493 to the US Federal Communications Commission was in fact a valid Petition. So a small part of the e-mail was true.
The bad news was that the Petition was presented in 1974! Yes, that's right, thirty-five years earlier! A minute later, I was on the FCC website reading that FCC had received millions of queries about Petition # 2493 and was still dealing with more. Despite the fact that the Petition # 2493 had been dealt with in 1975 and was no longer an issue. These Christians never give up, do they? Also despite the fact that the FCC have no power to restrict religious broadcasting!
So after a few short minutes, it was verified that: the content of the chain e-mail was 99% baloney; was thirty-four years too late; and had a dodgy 'petition' on it. The 'petition' was to be sent to an unknown person called Lisa Norman belonging to no particular organisation, at a very dubious looking Hotmail address that actually does not exist.
Hardly anything suspicious there then. So don't forget to send a copy to all your friends.
I have always broken the chain. It is easy to tell they are a hoax, even before you reach the predictable bit about passing this “on to everyone in your address book”. Yet I usually check them out to see what the actual facts are, which I sometimes refer back to the originator.
The only way to stop ridiculous chain e-mails is for recipients to:
(a) check the facts (it's easy);
(b) never, ever pass them on; and
(c) inform the sender of the facts and where to check for themselves.
The following websites are recommended for checking the veracity of chain e-mails:
http://www.breakthechain.org/
http://hoax-slayer.com/
http://www.snopes.com/
Or just google some of the specific content. Check the facts, it's that simple. Anyone can do it - but they won't and they don't because it seems to be human nature to believe things without worrying about the facts.