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

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

    Monday, December 16, 2013

    Voted the Best Email of This Year -- But keep forwarding forever

    The bottomline:  (aka., best for any year, hence keep forwarding forever)
    11. This email needs to circulate forever...
    See samples from 2008-2013...



    Posted by M Taher at 11:57 AM 0 comments

    Monday, December 2, 2013

    Stroke has a new indicator - Fact or Fiction?

    Received in today's email.
    They say if you email this to ten people, you stand a chance of saving one life. Will you send this along? Blood Clots / Stroke - They Now Have a Fourth Indicator: the Tongue
    Snopes.com say's it is a mixture of fact and fiction:
    The advice given in this much-circulated e-mail appears to be sound, although it needs be pointed out that it has yet to be endorsed by the American Stroke Association. It was drawn from a report presented in February 2003 at the American Stroke Association's (ASA) 28th International Stroke Conference, and news of it can be found on the American Heart Association's (AHA) web site. However, as the ASA says in its official statement about the report, though the research was funded by a grant from the ASA, that body has not taken a position on the topic nor endorsed the test because the results, though positive, arose from a very small study. 
    TRUE: Three simple tests can help diagnose the occurrence of a stroke. 
    FALSE: Making a stroke victim bleed from his fingers will prevent further harm.
    PARTLY TRUE: Asking a stricken victim to stick out his tongue can help diagnose a stroke.
    Read more at http://www.snopes.com
    Posted by M Taher at 9:11 AM 0 comments

    Saturday, November 23, 2013

    Mobile/cell phone info: 4 Things - fact or fiction?

    First the following message in a forwarded email:
    4 Things you might not have known about your  Cell Phone
    There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies. Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for survival.  Check out the things that you can do with it: 
    FIRST : Emergency
    SECOND: Hidden  Battery  Power

     THIRD: How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone?


     FOURTH: Free Directory Service for Cells

    Now, read the fact or fiction at Snopes.com and make your own decisions.
    Posted by M Taher at 7:06 PM 0 comments

    Thursday, October 24, 2013

    Community Service Recognition -- Beware of Who’s Who Scams

    Lovely, kind and personalized message that came in the mailbox today:
    Good morning!
    We wanted you to know that you received Honorable Mention in yesterday's article titled "Who's Who in Local Communities" by Stephen Bozanek, recognizing individuals and businesses who have recently contributed to improving their local communities.
    The article will remain available at www.newsdigest.co for the next few hours and is available for on-demand download and printing.
    We wish you the best of continued success.
    Sincerely,
    Lisa Davis
    News Digest International
    http://www.newsdigest.co

    ----------Yet another, received previously:
    Dear Candidate, 
    You were recently appointed as a biographical candidate to represent your industry in the Who's Who Among Executives and Professionals, and for inclusion into the upcoming 2008-2009 "Honors Edition" of the registry.
    We are pleased to inform you that on November the 10th, your candidacy was approved. Your confirmation for inclusion will be effective within five business days, pending our receipt of the enclosed application.
    The Office of the Managing Director appoints individuals based on a candidate's current position, and usually with information obtained from researched executive and professional listings. The director thinks you may make an interesting biographical subject, as individual achievement is what Who's Who is all about. Upon final confirmation you will be listed among thousands of accomplished individuals in the Who's Who Registry. There is no cost to be included.
    We do require additional information to complete the selection process and kindly ask that you access this form on our website by Clicking Here
    Sincerely,
    Bill Fields
    Managing Director
    Advise on how to 'treat' such lovely message is  by : Beware of Who’s Who Scams
    Extract:
    "If nothing jumped out at you in the above, then you need to learn more about how to identify a potential scam.
    First, if what is being referred to really involved a selection process and your identification as worthy from among a larger pool of people, you would expect the e-mail to address you by name. A generic form of address indicates that this is a mass mailing, and the link offering you the opportunity to unsubscribe confirms this...."
     On the same shelf:
    Posted by M Taher at 11:09 AM 0 comments
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    Sunday, October 6, 2013

    Will Bill Gates pay you if you forward an email?

    We always get these fwd emails:

    For understanding about such forwarded emails, see Cyber Crimes  by G. Ram Kumar

    Description: Will Bill Gates pay you if you forward an email? Is a great fortune of millions of dollars awaiting you in an African country? Do you get mails announcing that you have won a bumper lottery? Con men of the cyber space use these tricks to catch their gullible victims. Net users usually rise to the bait and part with critical information like passwords, bank details, etc. A new breed of crooks, cyber criminals, lurks over the Internet conning unsuspecting users out of their money and personal information.
    Ram Kumar’s Cyber Crimes comes as a timely alert for both experienced users of the net and those who are new to it. Written in a clear language for every user of the Internet, Cyber Crimes will help you understand the evil forces of the cyberspace and be on your guard. The SAFE INTERNET COMPUTING GUIDE provides useful dos and don’ts for your safety in your cyber journey.

    Contents:         Cyber crimes • Junk Mail - Spam & Spim • Online Frauds - Scams, Phishing Attacks & Urban Legends • Malware I - Viruses, Worms & Trojans • Malware II - Cookies, Adware, Spyware & Scumware • Identity Theft - Spoofing, Forgery & Social Engineering • Password Cracking & Hostile Profiling • Computer/Network Intrusions - Hacking & DoS Attacks • Cyber Squatting, Software Piracy & Copyright Infringement • Cyber Stalking & Digital Bullying • Cyber Terrorism & Cyber Warfare • Safe internet computing guide • Tips for Online Security • Blocking Spam • Guarding against Spim • Handling Scams & Phishing Attacks • Protecting yourself from Pharming Attacks • Containing Viruses & Trojans • Clearing Cookies, Adware & Spyware • Avoiding Identity Thefts • Tips for Choosing a Secure Password • Reporting Hacking Attempts • Dealing with Cyber Stalking • Online Auction Frauds • Safe Online Shopping • Safe Online Chatting• Email Account Privacy • Safe Net Banking •Endspeak • Virus Message • Nigerian Scam Message • Phishing Scam Message • Urban Legend Email • Social Engineering • Dumpster Diving • Key Internet Usage Statistics -- source
    Posted by M Taher at 9:35 PM 0 comments
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