E-mail hoaxes blamed for skepticism toward virus threats

Hundreds of hoaxes often start as pranks, but can become a real threat, Sunny Tan, business development manager of Trisecurity, told The Straits Times. "Every time there is a virus announced, and someone gets the alert, they send it to 100 of their friends, who send it to 100 of their own," Tan was quoted as saying.

Amid such a torrent, a real warning from a company's network administration is often ignored, he noted. The frequency of such hoaxes clogs up e-mail. Worse, the report said, real warnings and appeals are met with skepticism. False warnings of new computer viruses such as the "Wobbler" scare last February prompted many to take no notice of authentic warnings about the highly virulent "Love Bug," resulting in its spread to more than 3 million computers, the report said.

Hoax e-mails often use the name of a well-known company to make it appear more credible. Even the American Cancer Society has not been spared. Winston Teo, a marketing executive, cited a series of e-mails claiming to be raising money for a cancer-stricken child. It said each time the e-mail was forwarded, the society would donate three cents to help pay for the child's treatment. "If you are too mean/heartless/selfish to forward the mail, then you are one sick person," said the accompanying message estimated to have reached more than 1 million people worldwide.

"It played to a person's sense of pity. It played to his logic. It played to his guilt," Teo told the newspaper. "No wonder people fell for it." Among the bumper crop of hoaxes last year were a pair claiming that such companies as Nokia and Ericsson were giving out free mobile phones to those who forwarded chain mail. Another said a U.S. postal worker had a cockroach hatch inside her tongue after licking a contaminated envelope.

(dpa)