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Have you ever received an email message like this one?
Subject: virus alert There is a new virus-WOBBLER . It will arrive on e-mail titled "CALIFORNIA.'IBM and AOL have announced that it is very powerful, more so than Melissa, there is no remedy. It will eat all your information on the hard drive and also destroys Netscape Navigator and Microsoft internet Explorer. Do not open anything with this title and please pass this message on to all your contacts and anyone who uses your e-mail facility. Not many people seem to know about this yet so propagate it as fast as possible. If you receive an e-mail titled"Win A. Holiday" DO NOT open it. It will erase everything on your hard drive. Forward this letter out to as many people as you can. This is a new,very malicious virus and not many people know about it. This informatio was announced yesterday morning from Microsoft. Thankyou, Neil Ferrick, Compaq computer Corporation
An email like this is almost always a hoax. It's not a virus warning. It's a chain-letter.
By passing on an unverified and false virus warning, you're unwittingly aiding and abetting the hoaxers, which is exactly what they want. The virus doesn't exist, so your well-meant warning becomes the virus (see #2 below).
It sounds like a fourteen-year-old. Look at the typos, etc.
Look at how many copies are being sent and how far down the chain you are.
The Internet is mainstream now. If this virus is real, you will not be the first person to hear about it (see #2 above). You will most likely hear about it first from traditional media sources such as radio, TV, and newspapers.
The Wobbler or California hoax above is a variant of the venerable Good Times.
Symantec Anti-Virus Center's hoax page
Department of Energy Computer Incident Advisory Capability's Hoaxes
Delete the email warning and forget about it.
Never forward a supposed virus warning (or any other kind of email) just because you get an email that says "Pass this on to everyone!" When you find out it's a hoax, don't compound the problem by sending another chain-letter message stating that it's a hoax. The best response is to use your Delete key ASAP.
Hoaxkill: Let's get rid of hoaxes now!
Learn more:
CIAC's Hoax Busters
DataFellows' Hoaxes
NetSquirrel's Combat Kit
ICSA's Hoax Alert
Make Your Own !!!! Try P.U.M.A. Now!
I got this from the Langa List for February 13, 2000.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Institute for the Investigation of irregular Internet Phenomena announced today that many Internet users are becoming infected by a new virus that causes them to believe without question every groundless story, legend, and dire warning that shows up in their Inbox or on their browser. The Gullibility Virus, as it is called, apparently makes people believe and forward copies of silly hoaxes relating to E-Mail viruses, get-rich-quick schemes, and conspiracy theories.
"These are not just readers of tabloids or people who buy lottery tickets based on fortune cookie numbers," a spokesman said. "Most are otherwise normal people, who would laugh at the same stories if told to them by a stranger on a street corner." However, once these same people become infected with the Gullibility Virus, they believe anything they read on the Internet.
"My immunity to tall tales and bizarre claims is all gone," reported one weeping victim. "I believe every warning message and sick child story my friends forward to me, even though most of the messages are anonymous."
Internet users are urged to examine themselves for symptoms of the virus, which include the following:
* the willingness to believe improbable stories without thinking
* the urge to forward multiple copies of such stories to others
* a lack of desire to take three minutes to check to see if a story is true
T. C. is an example of someone recently infected. He told one reporter, "I read on the Net that the major ingredient in almost all shampoos makes your hair fall out, so I've stopped using shampoo." When told about the Gullibility Virus, T . C. said he would stop reading e-mail, so that he would not become infected.
President Clinton has been advised by the National Health Council. He has had an emergency session with former presidents Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford, and Lincoln. All agreed he should not quarantine the country.
This is not being reported in the major news media to avoid panic. Anyone with symptoms is urged to seek help immediately. Experts recommend that at the first feelings of gullibility, Internet users rush to their favorite search engine and look up the item tempting them to thoughtless credence. Most hoaxes, legends, and tall tales have been widely discussed and exposed by the Internet community. Many companies have internal support groups to help employees minimize the impact of this terrible virus.
**********************
Forward this message to all your friends right away! Don't think about it! This is not a chain letter! This story is true! Don't check it out! This story is so timely, there is no date on it! This story is so important, we're using lots of exclamation points!!! For every message you forward to some unsuspecting person, the Home for the Hopelessly Gullible will donate ten cents to itself. (If you wonder how the Home will know you are forwarding these messages all over creation, you're obviously thinking too much.)
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