Is it a Hoax?

The internet is an amazing invention and means of communication, and for the most part, has improved our lives in a variety of ways.  HOWEVER, when people post urban legends without checking them out, they may actually be hurting people.

I recently saw one with a picture of a breast with metallic-looking holes all over it.  Supposedly the woman got some kind of parasite from not washing her new bra before wearing it.  It was disgusting, and I imagine it frightened some people.

I’ve seen quite a few posts recently about missing children.  I always check them out before forwarding.  ONLY the ones that are true Amber Alerts are true.  In this case, it will cause a “crying wolf” response, and soon people may not respond to the real alerts.  Children may be injured or killed because of these irresponsible posts.

Gerber is giving away $500 savings bonds to each child under the age of 12 as part of a legal settlement… Intel and AOL will pay your for forwarding this email …a major fried chicken franchise uses mutant chickens - that is why the word "chicken" is no longer in their name … 60 Minutes reported that Proctor and Gamble is a satanic company… Target is owned by Muslims in France… Diet soda will give you Multiple Sclerosis…

All of the above – and many more - are stories - being passed around Facebook, via emails and Twitter.  They are ALL false!

Millions of people pass on stories about saving a dying child, trying to get something for nothing by forwarding emails, or warning their friends of deadly food or other hazard.  People may think there is no harm – just in case it’s true. 

Passing on hoaxes and urban legends can slow the internet down; but worse than that, passing on these stories may be giving ideas to the same “sick” people who create viruses and spyware.  They may then copy the ideas from these untrue stories and turn them into reality.  This has actually already happened a few times.

In addition, when legitimate, very serious warnings are posted, their credibility is lessened because of all the garbage that readers pass on.  It becomes difficult to discern truth from reality. 

Many of the hoax emails and posts offer a “verifying” source to give it more credibility.  They will say that the source is a huge company, like Microsoft.  If a post tells you to forward this to everyone you know it is almost always a hoax.

Before forwarding posts and emails of this sort, PLEASE be responsible.  Check the messages out first.  It only takes a couple minutes to visit http://snopes.com, http://www.scambusters.org/legends.html, http://urbanlegends.about.com, http://vil.mcafee.com/hoax.asp, or http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.htmlto verify whether the post is true or a hoax. 

************************

Learn how to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more at http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings(NOT insurance). 

Please visit my Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/XpressHealthcareTheWinnersCircle 

To learn about Julie Klein and how you can be successful in network marketing, look at the Xpress Healthcare® Business Opportunity at http://joinxpresshealthcare.com.