Internet Hoax - Get a free Sony Ericsson Laptop
...All you need do is send an email about this promotion to 8 people and you will receive an Ericsson T18 laptop. However, if you send an email to 20 or more people, you will receive and Ericsson R320 laptop...
OH, COME ON! (you can't possible believe that...)
I am amazed at the stupidity with which some malcontents are trying to disrupt internet and email services. Even more, I am dismayed when I receive proof that people actually overlook the stupidity and respond to such feeble attempts, thus propegating the lie AND encouraging these morons to come up with even more banal, asinine fodder.
Oh, I'm sorry... Was I ranting? Yes, I suppose I was...
And, why, pray tell, should I rant? Today it's because of an email hoax I received from a colleague - or, to clarify, this was an email begin forwarded by a colleague to exactly 20 people (might as well go for the gold...). The email title was simply "FW: Ericsson Laptop" and so I opened it and began reading it.. The message added by my colleague (who shall remain nameless because I hope she's already thoroughly humiliated and I do not wish to embarass her further) simply read "Do you know 20 people to send this to?"
The attached email message was preceded by the email headers of 3 previous recipients who had each forwarded it to 20 people also. So already I know that this one missive was already sent to at least 80 people, of which I was unfortunately one.
Now, to the actual email hoax that started this folly:
Strike One: The first line should have been a dead giveaway to anyone with half a brain (yes, I'm still ranting, sorry.) Presumeably a preamble included by whoever originated the email, it read "Snopes.com shows it as a legitimate offer." There was no link to Snopes.com, just the statement.
... HELLO?... Does that set off any alarms? Oh, but wait, it gets better...
The next line read; "I DID check with Snopes - it IS legit... They're trying to match a recent deal by Nokia!"
So the email starts off by suggesting that Snopes.com (a site which verifies or exposes urban legends as hoaxes, frauds, scams, ... and occasionallly as legitimate) NOT ONCE, but TWICE, and yet without a link to snopes.com with which to verify this offer's legitimacy. (Know why? Because if you actually went to snopes.com and read their report on this claim you'd see that it's COMPLETELY FALSE.)
Strike Two: The next giveaway was that the original message (text and all) was a graphic file - a picture. Now, friends and neighbors, there are a few legitimate reasons one might place text into a graphich file - particularly if you wish to use an unusual font which the recipient may not have on their PC. But another good reason to place text in a picture is to get past the spam filters which you know are looking for the very text you're trying to transmit. The filters can't see the text in a picture, so the email is more likely to bypass the spam filters.
Strike Three: And finally, the fantasy that any company will compensate you (with a new laptop in this case, but sometimes it's a promise of money) when you forward their email to your peers. (the poor company can't afford a decent marketing campaign, but they apparently can afford to give away new laptops...) And not just to you, but to EVERYBODY who likewise forwards the email to their peers. Of course there is no mention of a limited time or 'while supplies last'.
<climbs up on soapbox> (yeah, I wanna rant some more...) Now, what kind of pathetic loser actually creates such a flimsy and ridiculous hoax and sends it out into the ether hoping to create chaos? My first guess is someone who wishes to think of him (or her) self as a b@d@ss like the people who write malicious software, viruses, trojans and such. They hope to create mayhem and destruction with their evil schemes. Unfortunately they aren't smart enough actually write malicious code, nor are they ambitious enough to learn how. So the only option they have (other than getting a real life) is to fabricate a lie and hope to lure you into viciously forwarding their email to your peers, where it will viciously annoy anyone with a brain. These people are not to be feared... they are to be pitied. (poor little pathetic losers...)
The people who should be feared are those like my colleague who can read such obvious tripe and still manage to forward it to their peers either without thinking about the foolishness of their actions, or without caring about the foolishness of their actions, ... OR (Heaven forbid) actually believing the tripe and making plans for their soon to arrive new laptop. These are our peers... our colleagues and THEY SHOULD KNOW BETTER! But they forwarded the tripe anyway.
Why should we fear them? Because if they're thoughtless/careless/foolish enough to fall for this hoax, which is obvious and easy to identify as pure poppycock, then they are probably thoughless/careless/foolish enough to fall for the real threats. And worse... they are passing them on to people like us. (BAD colleague! BAD!)
Especially now, with the holiday season upon us, there are potentially dangerous websites, emails and social networking entries to look out for. Please, please, please... don't be a bad colleague. There's usually a reason an offer sounds too good to be true...
Be safe!
and
Happy Holidays!
OH, COME ON! (you can't possible believe that...)
I am amazed at the stupidity with which some malcontents are trying to disrupt internet and email services. Even more, I am dismayed when I receive proof that people actually overlook the stupidity and respond to such feeble attempts, thus propegating the lie AND encouraging these morons to come up with even more banal, asinine fodder.
Oh, I'm sorry... Was I ranting? Yes, I suppose I was...
And, why, pray tell, should I rant? Today it's because of an email hoax I received from a colleague - or, to clarify, this was an email begin forwarded by a colleague to exactly 20 people (might as well go for the gold...). The email title was simply "FW: Ericsson Laptop" and so I opened it and began reading it.. The message added by my colleague (who shall remain nameless because I hope she's already thoroughly humiliated and I do not wish to embarass her further) simply read "Do you know 20 people to send this to?"
The attached email message was preceded by the email headers of 3 previous recipients who had each forwarded it to 20 people also. So already I know that this one missive was already sent to at least 80 people, of which I was unfortunately one.
Now, to the actual email hoax that started this folly:
Strike One: The first line should have been a dead giveaway to anyone with half a brain (yes, I'm still ranting, sorry.) Presumeably a preamble included by whoever originated the email, it read "Snopes.com shows it as a legitimate offer." There was no link to Snopes.com, just the statement.
... HELLO?... Does that set off any alarms? Oh, but wait, it gets better...
The next line read; "I DID check with Snopes - it IS legit... They're trying to match a recent deal by Nokia!"
So the email starts off by suggesting that Snopes.com (a site which verifies or exposes urban legends as hoaxes, frauds, scams, ... and occasionallly as legitimate) NOT ONCE, but TWICE, and yet without a link to snopes.com with which to verify this offer's legitimacy. (Know why? Because if you actually went to snopes.com and read their report on this claim you'd see that it's COMPLETELY FALSE.)
Strike Two: The next giveaway was that the original message (text and all) was a graphic file - a picture. Now, friends and neighbors, there are a few legitimate reasons one might place text into a graphich file - particularly if you wish to use an unusual font which the recipient may not have on their PC. But another good reason to place text in a picture is to get past the spam filters which you know are looking for the very text you're trying to transmit. The filters can't see the text in a picture, so the email is more likely to bypass the spam filters.
Strike Three: And finally, the fantasy that any company will compensate you (with a new laptop in this case, but sometimes it's a promise of money) when you forward their email to your peers. (the poor company can't afford a decent marketing campaign, but they apparently can afford to give away new laptops...) And not just to you, but to EVERYBODY who likewise forwards the email to their peers. Of course there is no mention of a limited time or 'while supplies last'.
<climbs up on soapbox> (yeah, I wanna rant some more...) Now, what kind of pathetic loser actually creates such a flimsy and ridiculous hoax and sends it out into the ether hoping to create chaos? My first guess is someone who wishes to think of him (or her) self as a b@d@ss like the people who write malicious software, viruses, trojans and such. They hope to create mayhem and destruction with their evil schemes. Unfortunately they aren't smart enough actually write malicious code, nor are they ambitious enough to learn how. So the only option they have (other than getting a real life) is to fabricate a lie and hope to lure you into viciously forwarding their email to your peers, where it will viciously annoy anyone with a brain. These people are not to be feared... they are to be pitied. (poor little pathetic losers...)
The people who should be feared are those like my colleague who can read such obvious tripe and still manage to forward it to their peers either without thinking about the foolishness of their actions, or without caring about the foolishness of their actions, ... OR (Heaven forbid) actually believing the tripe and making plans for their soon to arrive new laptop. These are our peers... our colleagues and THEY SHOULD KNOW BETTER! But they forwarded the tripe anyway.
Why should we fear them? Because if they're thoughtless/careless/foolish enough to fall for this hoax, which is obvious and easy to identify as pure poppycock, then they are probably thoughless/careless/foolish enough to fall for the real threats. And worse... they are passing them on to people like us. (BAD colleague! BAD!)
Especially now, with the holiday season upon us, there are potentially dangerous websites, emails and social networking entries to look out for. Please, please, please... don't be a bad colleague. There's usually a reason an offer sounds too good to be true...
Be safe!
and
Happy Holidays!
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