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Frauds, Scams & Hoaxes
For
decades these hoaxes have been distributed by email chain letters,
posted on message boards, on web sites, passed by word-of-mouth,
or sent through the U.S. mail.
FEATURED HOAX
Coriolis Effect on Draining Water
Contents
Clicking on Contents Links Takes You to Index, Clicking on Index Links Takes You to Pages
- Catagories
- Frauds | Scams & Cons
| Hoaxes & Myths | Malicious
Code Hoaxes
- Online
Resources
- Pages
- Pyramid
Schemes | eMail
Scams | Chain Letters | Chain Letters: Sympathy | Defamation
| Hacked History | Hoaxes
| Inferred Violence | Manipulation
& Trickery | Misinformation
& Propaganda | Myths |
Photo-Manipulations | Rumors
| September 11 Hoaxes & Rumors
| True Stories
| Truth Gone Wrong | Urban
Legends
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Frauds
- BACK
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Index
Scams
& Cons
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TO CONTENTS -
Pyramid Schemes 
A pyramid
scheme is a "get rich quick" scheme that takes the form
of a chain letter, gifting club, or similarly structured device
that promises substantial financial gain in return for mailing
or otherwise delivering cash, check, or money order to one or
more persons without receiving any item, product, or tangible
service in return. All pyramid schemes are illegal.
Illegal Chain Letters
Kid Gets Rich From Chain Letter
-
Scams
- A fraudulent
business scheme devised to directly or indirectly take your money,
property, personal information, or the ultimate... your identity.
-
- How
to Spot a Scam
- Current Scams List (City of Mesa AZ)
-
- World Currency Cartel
- 4-1-9 Advance Fee Fraud
/ Nigerian Scam
- You Are the Winner of
a Foreign Lottery
- Area Code 809 Scam
- Spam Scams
- Cartridge Donation Scam
- Black Inheritance Tax
Refund / Slavery Reparation Scam
- PayPal System Update
Scam
- International Driver's
License Scam
- Troop, Veteran, War
Orphan Money Raising Scams
- Kazaa Gold Scam
-
AOL-Specific
- AOL Database Corruption
Scam
- AOL Give-away Scam
- You Have a Secret Admirer
Scam
- The AOL Insta-Kiss Scam
- AOL Prize Patrol Scam
- Instant Message 888
Number Billing Scam
- Instant Message Petition
Hoax
- AOL Greeting Card Scam
- Password Stealing Schemes
- Techincal Consultant, Hacker Enforcer, Billing/Credit/CAT Department
- AOL Billing Scams
- 800 Number Scheme
- AOL BlackJack Scheme
/ BJSETUP.EXE Trojan Horse
- BACK
TO CONTENTS -
Index
Hoaxes
& Myths
- BACK
TO CONTENTS -
Chain Letter Hoaxes
A letter
that is sent successively, via regular mail or email, to one or
more people, and asks the recipient(s) to forward it.
Basic
Chain Letters
- McDonald's vs Taco Bell
- World Record Hoax
Chain
Letter Give-aways
Bill Gates eMail Tracking Hoax
Microsoft & AOL eMail Tracking Hoax
Disney eMail Tracking
Bank eMail Tracking Giveaway
Free Miller Beer eMail Tracking Giveaway
Netwcape-AOL Merger-Inspired Giveaway
The GAP eMail Tracking Giveaway
The GAP eMail Tracking Giveaway #2
IBM Giveaway
Coca-Cola Giveaway
Microsoft-AOL Merger
Beta Test Payment Hoax
Intel-AOL Merger eMail Tracking
Ericsson-Nokia Phone Giveaway
Tickle-Me-Elmo eMail Tracking Giveaway
Old Navy eMail Tracking Giveaway
J Crew eMail Tracking Giveaway
Bath & Bodyworks eMail Tracking Giveaway
Victoria's Secret Giveaway
Columbia House Giveaway
M&M eMail Tracking Giveaway
Honda eMail Tracking Giveaway
Newell Company Giveaway
RH Power-Outback Steakhouse Giveaways
Cracker Barrel Giveaway
Applebees Gift Hoax
Chain
Letter Threats
- Not a Joke
- AOL Riot June 1, 1998
- MSN ß®øöô¥
£.14 Hacker List Threat
Petitions
- PBS-NPR Petition
- Film Includes Gay Jesus
- FCC to Ban Religious
Broadcasting (Petition #2493)
- AOL to Charge for IM's
- Free Closed Captioning
to be Eliminated
- Boycott Saudi Oil Importers
Based on Fact
Brazil to Cut Rain Forest by 50%
Paget's Disease
PBS-NPR Petition
Mrs Ary's 2nd Grade Class
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Sympathy Chain Letters
An untrue
or misleading request, in the form of a chain letter, for help
or sympathy for someone who has experienced a tragedy, illness,
or accident.
Abductions
- Abducted From Sam's
Club
Critically
Ill
- Little Girl Dying Hoax
- Little Girl Dying of
a Brain Tumor Hoax
- Little Girl with No
Arms Hoax
- Jessica Mydek Cancer
Hoax
- Tamara Martin Cancer
Hoax
- Dave Mathews Hoax
- Anthony Parkin Hoax
- Amy Bruce Hoax
- Timothy Flyte Hoax
- Jada Cohen Hoax
- Kalin Relek Hoax
Missing
Persons
- Penny Brown Hoax
- Chris Mineo Hoax
Suicides
- Garcia Marquez Farewell
Letter Hoax
Based
on Fact
- Krystava Schmidt
- Kelsey Brooke Jones
- Aaron Russell Steinmetz
- Craig Shelford or Craig
Shergold Make-A-Wish
Hoax
Spoofs
- Boy with Just a Head
Spoof
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TO CONTENTS -
-
Defamation
- The
malicious injuring of an individual's or businesses' reputation
by (oral) slander or (written) libel.
-
- Kentucky Fried Hoax
- Needle in McDonald's
Ball Pit
- Satanic Procter &
Gamble Hoax
- Satanists Liz Claiborne
& Ray Kroc
- Roaches in Taco Bell
Tacos Hoax
- Outback Steakhouse Urine
Hoax
- Wal Mart Lack of Patriotism
Rant
- Boycott Tommy Hilfiger
Hoax
- McDonald's Beef Warning
- Richard Gere & The
Gerbil
- New Pepsi Can Design
Nixes God
- Febreze Warning
-
Hacked History
- Real
events inwhich the facts have been altered to fit someone's political
or religious agenda.
-
- Oliver North Hoax
- Hanoi Jane Warning
- Hillary Clinton Goldstar
Mother Hoax
- Cindy Williams Warning
- Fuji Deletes Israel
From Map Hoax
- Hillary Clinton Defends
Black Panthers
- Dan White Pleads "Twinkie
Defense"
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TO CONTENTS -
-
Hoaxes
- eMail,
message board postings, faxes, web pages, and web sites that
attempt to disseminate false or misleading information.
Hoaxes
- U of Toronto Semen vs
Human Speech Study
- Flesh-eating Bananas
- Harry Potter Hoax
- Granny Shoots Balls
Off Rapists
- Dead Man Works for a
Week
- The Suicide of Roland
Opus
- The Bill for Zero, Paid
With the Check for Zero
- Collegiate Power Lifter
Suffers Prolapsed Rectum
- Doctors Find Live Worm
in Patient's Eye
Warnings
- Area Code 809 Scam Hoax
- Warning to YAHOO Users
Hoax
- Hotmail Urgent Message
- Antiperspirant Causes
Breast Cancer
- Shampoo, Colgate Toothpaste
Cause Cancer
- Sunscreen Causes Blindness
- Tampons, Asbestos and
Dioxin
- Instant Messenger Hoax
- Aspartame (NutraSweet)
Hoax
- Two-way Mirror Test
- Voting Rights Expire
for Blacks Warning
- Canola Oil Warning
- Progesterex Warning
- Credit Info Opt-Out
Hoax
- Lethal Rat Urine
- Flashing IM Warning
- Crocodile Eats Golfer
- IRS Audit Warning Hoax
- Dioxins vs Plastic Containers
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TO CONTENTS -
-
Inferred Violence
- eMail,
message board postings, and web sites that depict untrue, nonetheless
disturbing, violent acts against animals and humans. If these
depictions were true they wouild be prosecutable felonies.
-
- Bonsai Kittens Web Site
-
-
Malicious Code Hoaxes
JDBGMGR.exe
-
Manipulation & Trickery
- Online Psychic
-
Miisinformation & Propaganda
- Untrue
or incorrect information often based on bigotry, prejudice, and/or
ignorance, and disseminated in order to promote a political or
religious agenda or gain social standing.
-
- Taxpayers
Funding Gay Smut
- Vice
President's Daughter Wants to be Iraqi Human Shield
-
Myths
- A traditional
story accepted as history.
-
- Only Child or Only Son
Military Exemption
- Titanic First Ship to
Use SOS
- Titanic Never Called
"Unsinkable"
- Coriolis Effect on Draining
Water
-
-
Photo-Manipulations
- Combining
two or more images or otherwise manipulating images.
-
- Hurricane Lili Triple
Tornado
- Unsuspecting WTC Tourist
Photo
- Shark-Helicopter Encounter
- Photo Shows Cracks in
Shuttle Columbia's Wing
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TO CONTENTS -
Rumors
- Gossip,
usually a mixture of truth and untruth passed from one person
to another, often used in character assassination.
-
- Green Acres' Arnold
the Pig Eaten
- Superman Actor Dies
Trying to Fly
- Pokemon Causes Seizures
- Leave it to Beaver Star
Killed in Viet Nam
- Leave it to Beaver First
to Show Toilet on TV
- Celebrity Mistaken for
Gardener Gives Snappy Comeback
- Female Astronaut Cheats
Death a Second Time
- Dude, You're Getting
A...rrested
-
- Soon-to-be
Rumors
- TV's Mister Ed Was Really
a Zebra
- Tarzana CA Was Named
After the Tarzan Character
- Sing a Song of Sixpence
Nursery Rhyme Was Coded Message
- Mississippi Deletes
Fractions and Decimals From School Curriculum
- Play Entitled "Closed
for Remodeling" Causes Uproar
- Poseidon Adventure Played
as Titanic Sank
-
September 11 Hoaxes & Rumors
Hoaxes
and rumors that all relate to the tragic events of September 11,
2001.
9/11/
Hoaxes
- WTC Jews Stayed Home
on 9/11
- al-Quaeda Has Nukes
in U.S. Cities
- FEMA Had Foreknowledge
of Attack
- Taxis Stay Away From
WTC on 9/11
- Airline Passengers Still
Strapped in Seats
- Mother Cat & Kittens
Found in WTC Rubble
- Man Rides WTC Rubble
as Building Falls
- 9/11 Nostradamus Prophecy
- Unsuspecting WTC Tourist
Photo
- Anti-U.S. Dunkin Donuts
Warning
- Budweiser Pulls Product
From Store
- CNN Used Old Film Footage
to Fake 9/11 Reaction
- Prophecy From a Folded
$20
- From
CSICOP:
- September 11 Warning
from Afghani Boyfriend
- Putting Words in Nostradamus'
Mouth
- Everything Adds Up to
Eleven
- UFO Seen in Sky Above
Burning Trade Center Towers
- Wingdings Font Applied
to "Q33 NY"
- Klingerman Virus - The
Sequel
Based
on Fact
- Satan's Face in Smoke
of WTC
-
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True Stories
These
are rumors, stories, pleas for help, and chain letters that were
thought to be hoaxes but turned out to be true.
- NY State Lottery Draws
9-1-1 on 9/11/02
- Child Dies by Falling
on Knife in Dishwasher
- Court Documents Prove
Molestation by Michael Jackson
- American Idol Contestant
Disqualified for Porno Connection
- Man Fleeing From Police
is Decapitated by Iron Fence
- Man Fixes Torn Scrotum
with Staples
- Saddam Hussein Has Financial
Stake in Popular U.S. Magazines
- Iraqi Wall Mural Apparently
Depicts World Trade Center Attack
Truth Gone Wrong
These
are stories, news articles, and pleas for help that were at one
time real, but have now outlived their truth, or have been grossly
mis-stated.
- Nine Abandoned Puppies
Need Homes
- Florida Drivers Can
Block Disclosure of Driver's Records
-
-
Urban Legends
- A story,
which may have started with a grain of truth, has been embellished
and retold until it has passed into the realm of myth.
-
- Internet Cleanup Day
- Internet Access Charge
- eMail Tax (602P) Hoax
- Klingerman Virus
- Kidney Harvest
- Needles on Theatre Seats
- Needles on Gas Pump
Handles
- LSD on the Phone Hoax
- Poisoned ATM Deposit
Envelopes
- Baby's Body Stuffed
with Cocaine
- Spider in the Toilet
Hoax
- Roaches in the Stamp
Glue Hoax
- Spunkball Warning
- Man High on PCP Cuts
Off Face
- TV Broadcast Signal
Seen 3 Years Later
- Life Cereal's Mikey
Dies Eating "Pop Rocks"
- Radio Host Calls Kids
"Little Bastards" On-Air
- Flashing Your Headlights
Can Kill You
- Grandmother is
Luggage
- Scuba Diver in a Tree
Legend
Spoofs
- Disaster Hoax Spoof
- Universal Legend Spoof
-
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Index
Online Resources
Understanding Hoaxes & Viruses, Further investigation, Virus Infection Solutions, Encyclopedias, and Sources Cited Herein
Online
Resources
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Broken Links to WebMaster
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2003 PullmanUSA.net