From another site, extract:

Who would do such a thing? The same sort of people who have perpetuated some of the top urban legends such as the claim that Mr. Rogers had a former secret career as a trained assassin, and that ATM users can quickly contact police in the event of an attempted robbery by entering their PIN in reverse. The cyberspace is full of lies disguised as inspiration, political alerts, health warnings, and prayers. Many come complete with enhanced photographs. The ones that are especially ironic are those that state, “Even Snopes has confirmed this,” along with a link to Snopes that attributes it as false. People who forward such emails, obviously do not check the link themselves. (source: To Forward or Not to Forward? By Patti Maguire Armstrong catholicmom.com)



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Forwarded Emails

Monday, May 5, 2014

Five Most Dangerous Subject Lines, TOI, Websense Research

"Email subjects quite often play a big role in the success of a phishing campaign. Cybercriminals are, therefore, increasingly attempting to fool recipients into clicking a malicious link or downloading an infected file by using business-oriented and legitimate-seeming subject lines...
Websense Research has revealed that email subjects alone are most likely to ensure a phishing lure. Here are five of the most risky email subjects that you should never open:


  • Invitation to connect on LinkedIn;
  • Mail delivery failed: returning message to sender;
  • Dear … Customer;
  • Comunicazione importante / important communication;
  • Undelivered Mail Returned to Sender ... Continue reading: '5 emails you should never open' http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com 

    • See on the same shelf:
    In addition to social engineering, geographic location also plays an intricate role in phishing. By rank, here’s a list of the top 10 countries hosting phishing URLs: (Based on research conducted 1/1/13-9/30/13)
    1. China
    2. United States
    3. Germany
    4. United Kingdom
    5. Canada
    6. Russia
    7. France
    8. Hong Kong
    9. Netherlands
    10. Brazil  ... continue reading: Five Most Dangerous Subject Lines @ websense.com
    Posted by M Taher at 10:22 AM 0 comments
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    Sunday, March 9, 2014

    How to Avoid Spreading Myths and Misinformation Online

    "Even if you've never embarrassed yourself by unknowingly spreading an urban legend as fact to friends and family, you've at least been on the receiving end of one of these misinformed messages. Next time an email, tweet, or link seems a little fishy, here's how to spot it before your itchy trigger finger sends it to all your friends or followers. ... How do you identify and avoid spreading misinformation, myths, and urban legends on the internet?
    Step One: If It Walks Like a Duck
    Step Two: Do Your Research
    Step Three: Don't Hit Send
    Step Four: Absolution

    continue reading: Adam Pash's myth busting How to Avoid Spreading Myths and Misinformation Online

    On the same shelf:
    Posted by M Taher at 7:15 PM 0 comments

    Wednesday, February 26, 2014

    Advice for Journalists : Don't forward all freaky news you get...

     Advice for Journalists
    If you're a journalist, and you're not sure whether a funny story you read about a Muslim is news-worthy,  copy the text of the story and remove all references to Islam, Muslims, and Saudi Arabia- and then read it again.  Now, ask yourself a few questions:
    1. Can the story be verified?
    2. Is the content genuinely interesting, significant, or relevant to your readership?
    3. Was a real person willing to put their name on this? Is there an original, reliable source or byline?
    4. Could the text of this email be mistaken for a chain letter?
    5. If you published this religion-free version, would your editor call you an idiot with no news sense?  continue reading : How Mars Became Haram: A Guide to Freaky Fatwa News
    On the same shelf from Centre for Faith and the Media:

      Posted by M Taher at 10:26 PM 0 comments
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      Friday, January 17, 2014

      Today’s lesson: the dead cow lecture... To or Not To FWD...

      Today’s lesson: the dead cow lecture

      By Dr. Tony Johnson

      "I am generally opposed to to forwarding or otherwise disseminating things I receive in emails (GrOw yOuR p3ni5! lo5e w319ht! l34rn hOw tO ty93 u51n6 0n1y num6er5!), but there are some that sneak through my filter and rise to such a level of usefulness that I feel the need to introduce them to an unsuspecting world.

      I r3ceiv36..sorry, I received one such email today from a family member in the Middle West, and I present it here in its entirety.
      The subject line read simply “The dead cow lecture.” That alone was worth the price of admission and grabbed my attention straight away. I have no idea if this really happened at my esteemed institution of higher learning or if it’s completely apocryphal, but I glowed with pride when I read it.
      I can only hope that the information I pass on to my students is as practical, profound and utterly gross as the information that this professor passes on to his: THE DEAD COW LECTURE..." continue reading the story

      Posted by M Taher at 9:51 PM 0 comments

      Sunday, January 12, 2014

      COCA-COLA has alcohol and other rumors: To Forward Or Not To???

      Bottomline is VERIFY the info b4 forwarding to others....


      Posted by M Taher at 9:54 PM 0 comments

      Thursday, January 2, 2014

      Today's email: 10 Common Habits That Damage the Kidneys

      Is this message trustworthy, credible, and reliable. The email came with an author/creator (Written By OLUSEYE AJAYI)  and a website link to at least prove that it comes from a source, and that it has its domain.

      BUT, Check, Check, Check!!! Life is given once, and emails many. Verify the source, read the complete  message. Verify the information further at

      Posted by M Taher at 11:32 PM 0 comments
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