E-mail Hoaxes

September 12, 2007

I think everyone has seen a message in their inbox like this:

PLEASE : READ THIS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE (NO JOKE)
 
I checked with Norton Antivirus and they are gearing up for this virus so I believe this is real.  I checked snopes.com and this is for real. Get this sent around to your contacts ASAP…we don’t need this spreading around.

READ AS SOON AS POSSIBLE;  PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS:

You should be alert during the next days: Do not open any message with an attached filed called “Invitation” regardless of who sent it. It is a virus that opens an Olympic Torch which “burns” the whole hard disc C of your computer.. This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address in his/her contact list, that is why you should send this e-mail to all your contacts. It is better to receive this message 25 times than to receive the virus and open it. If you receive a mail called “invitation”, though sent by a friend, do not open it and shut down your computer immediately. This is the worst Virus announced by CNN, it has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever. This virus was discovered by McAfee yesterday, and there is no  repair yet for this kind of virus. This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital information is kept. SEND THIS E-MAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW.

COPY THIS E-MAIL AND SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS AND REMEMBER: IF YOU  SEND IT TO THEM, YOU WILL BENEFIT ALL OF US.

Just because someone writes “McAfee” or “Norton AntiVirus” inside their message, it does not mean that anything in their message is factual. How can you tell? Take three minutes, and check on it before you forward it to your entire e-mail address book and clog up everyone else’s inbox.

Here are some places to check when you’re unsure if something is a hoax:

And, of course, you can always contact ResQTek, too.

Everyone wants their computer and/or computer network to be secure, but by forwarding these messages blindly, you’re just giving underserved attention to something that should simply be deleted. When in doubt, check it out. And you pretty much should always be in doubt. 🙂

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