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Internet Chain Letters Please Note: This web site is provided as a public service; however, CIAC does not have the resources to investigate and/or confirm every chain letter currently circulating the Internet. CIAC appreciates input on questionable chain letters, but we are not able to respond back to each e-mail message. You can help eliminate "junk mail" by educating the public on how to recognize a new chain letter, and what to do if you think an e-mail message is a chain letter. Chain Letter: "A letter directing the recipient to send out multiple copies so that its circulation increases in a geometric progression as long as the instructions are carried out." Webster's II, New Riverside University Dictionary, 1984. The chain letters described on this page: PENPAL GREETINGS!, Make Money Fast, America Online Upgrade, Bud Frogs Screen Saver, A Little Girl Dying, Jessica Mydek, Anthony Parkin, Tickle Me Elmo, Kidney Harvest, PBS and NPR - Petition, Hawaiian Good Luck Totem, Everything You Never Wanted For information about hoaxes visit the CIAC Internet Hoaxes web page. Last modified: Wednesday, 10-Feb-1999 13:53:44 PST The Internet community is constantly being bombarded with chain letters in the form of e-mail messages. They claim all manner of warnings and dire notices of doom and gloom for your computer systems or for some poor soul somewhere, all of which will be saved if you just send this message on to all of your friends. Enter the world of the Internet chain letter. In the years before computers, chain letters were common and were sent by U.S. mail and required a stamp. This limited the extent to which chain letters were passed on, because sending them involved a real, up front cost in time to type the letters and money for stamps. The fact that most chain letters asked you to send a dollar to the top ten people in the chain caused most people to ignore them. Today, with the click of a button, a message can be forwarded to hundreds of people at no apparent cost to the sender. If each of the so-called good Samaritans sends the letter on to only ten other people (most send to huge mailing lists), the ninth resending results in a billion e-mail messages, thereby, clogging the network and interfering with the receiving of legitimate e-mail messages. Factor in the time lost reading and deleting all these messages and you see a real cost to organizations and individuals from these seemingly innocuous messages. Not only are these messages time consuming and costly, they may also be damaging to a person's or organization's reputation as in the case of the Jessica Mydek and the American Cancer Society chain letters. They are also illegal (See the US Postal Inspection Service information on chain letters) if they ask for money or anything else of value. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ How do you recognize a chain letter Chain letters all have a similar pattern. From the older printed letters to the newer electronic kind, they all have three recognizable parts: A hook. A threat. A request. First, there is a hook, to catch your interest and get you to read the rest of the letter. Hooks used to be "Make Money Fast" or "Get Rich" or similar statements related to making money for little or no work. Electronic chain letters also use the "free money" type of hooks, but have added hooks like "Danger!" and "Virus Alert" or "A Little Girl Is Dying". These tie into our fear for the survival of our computers or into our sympathy for some poor unfortunate person. When you are hooked, you read on to the threat. Most threats used warn you about the terrible things that will happen if you do not maintain the chain. However, others play on greed or sympathy to get you to pass the letter on. The threat often contains official or technical sounding language to get you to believe it is real. Finally, the request. Some older chain letters ask you to mail a dollar to the top ten names on the letter and then pass it on. The electronic ones simply admonish you to "Distribute this letter to as many people as possible." They never mention clogging the Internet or the fact that the message is a fake, they only want you to pass it on to others. Chain letters usually do not have the name and contact information of the original sender so it is impossible to check on its authenticity. Legitimate warnings and solicitations will always have complete contact information from the person sending the message and will often be signed with a cryptographic signature, such as PGP to assure its authenticity. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ What should you do? If you receive a chain letter in your e-mail, either delete it or send it on to one person. That one person is your local security officer or system administrator, thereby allowing them to investigate and warn their users not to pass on the letter. Do not send it to your friends and relatives because you will be clogging up the network. In addition, you lend your and your company's reputation to the message, making it appear to be authentic even when that is not the case. Hit the delete button instead and put that message where it belongs. Why aren't the chain letters on the CIAC hoaxes page? Many hoaxes are chain letters, but not all chain letters are verifibly hoaxes and, in fact, could describe real events. The CIAC hoaxes page is reserved for malicious code warnings that we know to be hoaxes. Malicious code is defined as being a collection of programs such as viruses, Trojan horses, logic bombs, and worms. The hoax warnings either describe things that cannot be true or have been traced to the perpetrator who admitted that it was a hoax. Chain letters, on the other hand, often describe things that may be real. In general, we believe they are all fakes, but that fact is often difficult or impossible to verify. We still suggest that you do not pass them on, even if they could be real. The damage done by passing them on is much higher than the warning in the message. Again, if you suspect the message is real, pass it to your security officer or incident response team and let them verify it first. Why do people send chain letters? Only the original writer knows the real reason, but some possibilities are: To see how far a letter will go. To harass another person (include an e-mail address and ask everyone to send mail, e.g. Jessica Mydek). To bilk money out of people using a pyramid scheme. To kill some other chain letter (e.g. Make Money Fast). To damage a person's or organization's reputation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PENPAL GREETINGS! The PENPAL GREETINGS! hoax shown below appears to be an attempt to kill an e-mail chain letter. This chain letter is a hoax because reading an e-mail message does not execute a virus nor does it execute any attachments; therefore the Trojan horse must be self starting. Aside from the fact that a program cannot start itself, the Trojan horse would have to know about every different kind of e-mail program to be able to forward copies of itself to other people. Notice the three parts of a chain letter, which are easy to identify in this example. The Hook FYI! Subject: Virus Alert Importance: High If anyone receives mail entitled: PENPAL GREETINGS! please delete it WITHOUT reading it. Below is a little explanation of the message, and what it would do to your PC if you were to read the message. If you have any questions or concerns please contact SAF-IA Info Office on 697-5059. The Threat This is a warning for all internet users - there is a dangerous virus propogating across the internet through an e-mail message entitled "PENPAL GREETINGS!". DO NOT DOWNLOAD ANY MESSAGE ENTITLED "PENPAL GREETINGS!" This message appears to be a friendly letter asking you if you are interested in a penpal, but by the time you read this letter, it is too late. The "trojan horse" virus will have already infected the boot sector of your hard drive, destroying all of the data present. It is a self-replicating virus, and once the message is read, it will AUTOMATICALLY forward itself to anyone who's e-mail address is present in YOUR mailbox! This virus will DESTROY your hard drive, and holds the potential to DESTROY the hard drive of anyone whose mail is in your inbox, and who's mail is in their inbox, and so on. If this virus remains unchecked, it has the potential to do a great deal of DAMAGE to computer networks worldwide!!!! Please, delete the message entitled "PENPAL GREETINGS!" as soon as you see it! The Request And pass this message along to all of your friends and relatives, and the other readers of the newsgroups and mailing lists which you are on, so that they are not hurt by this dangerous virus!!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Make Money Fast Warning The Make Money Fast Warning is similar to the Good Times hoax, but appears to be a warning message that is attempting to kill an e-mail chain letter. While laudable in its intent, the warning has caused as much or more problems than the chain letter it is attempting to kill. ******VIRUS ALERT****** ******VIRUS ALERT****** ******VIRUS ALERT****** There is NEW VIRUS rapidly affecting computers on the internet. This new virus is insidious, in that it transmitted as a USENET message. Usenet is the "news group" area on the internet that users can openly discuss and exchange information on a wide variety of topics. What makes this virus DOUBLY DANGEROUS, is that it is disguised as a common chain letter. Chain letters have been passed across usenet almost since it's beginning. Lately, a common chain letter subject is MAKE MONEY FAST. The Make Money Fast (MMF) chain is read by thousands of people daily. It is also known as: "Easy Cash", "Make Cash Fast", "Turn 5$ into $50,000" and many others. They are all basically the same scheme, in which the reader send $1 to each of the 5 people at the bottom of the list, then moves his name onto the list. The MMF Virus, as it has been doubed, rides along on these chain letters as a "hidden binary attachment". Since most news reader programs (computer programs used to read USENET messages) will automatically decode and store binary attachments, there is NO SAFE WAY to protect yourself from infection. The virus attackes your system the next time you run your news reader. Though the virus is transmitted during a normal usenet session, your NEXT usenet session will probably be your last for a while. As a hidden attachment, it is automatically activated with your news reader, and very quickly destroys your partition table. Generally, this is not even noticed until the next time you try to run ANY program. The next thing the virus does is to place your micro processor into an nth-complexity infinate binary loop, quickly destroying it. This will appear at first as a normal "lock-up" but will quickley wipe out the delicate circuitry in your system. The people that run usenet, at: news.admin.net-abusers are working night and day on a cure. Perhaps some day an automatic process will be able to detect the MMF Virus in usenet messages and cancel them, but that is some time off. At this point, your ONLY hope is to NOT DOWNLOAD ANY MESSAGES that have a subject similar to above. Please, FORWARD this message to ANYONE you know that reads usenet news. Thank you, News.Admin.Net-Abusers The warning appears to be attempting to kill the following e-mail message that came with the Subject: Make Money Fast, that describes how to start an illegal pyramid scheme on the Internet. Hello! I've got some awesome news that I think you need to take two minutes to read if you have ever thought "How could I make some serious cash in a hurry???" , or been in serious debt, ready to do almost anything to get the money needed to pay off those bill collectors. So grab a snack, a warm cup of coffee, or a glass of your favorite beverage, get comfortable and listen to this interesting, exciting find! Let me start by saying that I FINALLY FOUND IT! That's right!. found it! And I HATE GET RICH QUICK SCHEMES!! I hate those schemes like multi-level marketing, mail-order schemes, envelope stuffing scams, 900 number scams... the list goes on forever. I have tried every darn get rich quick scheme out there over the past 12 years. I somehow got on mailing lists for people looking to make money (more like 'desperate stupid people who will try anything for money!'). . . . . . [For the completion of the Make Money Fast chain letter, reference the Make Money Fast Page.] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ America Online Upgrade Warning Circulating on the Internet is an e-mail message addressing an America Online 4.0 Upgrade. You should never receive an AOL upgrade via e-mail because according to America Online: "AOL does not circulate ANYTHING to customers by way of e-mail with attached files. All AOL software is distributed through keyworded download areas on the service." The following is the e-mail message being circulated: Attention Friends Another scam on the lurch on the AOL net.... BEWARE !!!!!! If you receive an e-mail that is titled "Fwd: America Online 4.0 Upgrade" or has an attached file called "Setup40.exe" Do not download the program it is NOT Aol 4.0 it is a program that will e-mail your SCREEN NAME and your PASSWORD to two or more people during two blackouts of your computer screen. DO NOT DOWNLOAD DELETE IT!!! Please E-Mail this letter to as many people as possible to avoid damage....thanks !!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bud Frogs Screen Saver DANGER!!! VIRUS ALERT!!! THIS IS A NEW TWIST. SOME CREEPOID SCAM-ARTIST IS SENDING OUT A VERY DESIRABLE SCREEN-SAVER (THE BUD FROGS). BUT IF YOU DOWN-LOAD IT, YOU'LL LOSE EVERYTHING!!!!! YOUR HARD DRIVE WILL CRASH!! DON'T DOWNLOAD THIS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!!! IT JUST WENT INTO CIRCULATION YESTERDAY, AS FAR AS WE KNOW....BE CAREFUL. PLEASE DISTRIBUTE TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE...THANX BELOW IS WHAT THE SCREENSAVER PROGGIE WOULD LOOK LIKE! File: BUDSAVER.EXE (24643 bytes) DL Time (28800 bps): < 1 minute ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A Little Girl Dying Here is an example of a chain letter that preys on the sympathy of others. It is a hoax because what it claims is impossible. How can the American Cancer Society possibly know who you sent this to so they can donate 3 cents? Also, you donate to the Cancer Society, not the other way around. You guys..... this isn't a chain letter, but a choice for all of us to save a little girl that's going to die of a serious and fatal form of cancer. Please send this to everyone you know...or don't know at that.This little girl has 6 months left to live her life, and as her last wish, she wanted to send a chain letter telling everyone to live their life to fullest, since she never will. She'll never make it to prom,graduate from high school, or get married and have a family of her own. By you sending this to as many people as possible, you can give her and her family a little hope, because with every name that this is sent to, the American Cancer Society will donate 3 cents per name to her treatment and recovery plan. One guy sent this to 500 people !!!! So, I know that we can send it to at least 5 or 6. Come on you guys.... and if you're too selfish to waste 10-15 minutes and scrolling this and forwarding it to EVERYONE, just think it could be you one day....and it's not even your $money$, just your time. Please help this little girl out guys, I know you can do it!! I love you guys! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jessica Mydek Here is another sympathy chain letter similar to the "A Little Girl Dying" chain letter. According to American Cancer Society: "The American Cancer Society is greatly disturbed by reports of a fraudulent chain letter circulating on the internet which lists the American Cancer Society as a "corporate sponsor" but which has in no way been endorsed by the American Cancer Society. This letter appears to have started on America Online but has now spread well beyond the online service. There are several variations of this letter in circulation, including one which has a picture of "Tickle Me Elmo" and one that is essentially a paraphrase of the letter below." LITTLE JESSICA MYDEK IS SEVEN YEARS OLD AND IS SUFFERING FROM AN ACUTE AND VERY RARE CASE OF CEREBRAL CARCINOMA. THIS CONDITION CAUSES SEVERE MALIGNANT BRAIN TUMORS AND IS A TERMINAL ILLNESS. THE DOCTORS HAVE GIVEN HER SIX MONTHS TO LIVE. AS PART OF HER DYING WISH, SHE WANTED TO START A CHAIN LETTER TO INFORM PEOPLE OF THIS CONDITION AND TO SEND PEOPLE THE MESSAGE TO LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST AND ENJOY EVERY MOMENT, A CHANCE THAT SHE WILL NEVER HAVE. FURTHERMORE, THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY AND SEVERAL CORPORATE SPONSORS HAVE AGREED TO DONATE THREE CENTS TOWARD CONTINUING CANCER RESEARCH FOR EVERY NEW PERSON THAT GETS FORWARDED THIS MESSAGE. PLEASE GIVE JESSICA AND ALL CANCER VICTIMS A CHANCE. IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, SEND THEM TO THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY AT ACS@AOL.COM ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Anthony Parkin This is another example of a sympathy chain letter regarding a little boy's dying wish. THIS IS NOT A JOKE. This little boy at the Mayo Clinic is very sick and he knows that he will die. Well you know how they have those "Make a Wish Foundations" that give terminally ill kids a dying wish, well this is kind of like that. He likes computers and his wish is to live forever by having his chain letter be eternally passed on the Internet. This is not some joke. And for those of you who care please send this to as many people as possible so his wish can be granted. (THIS IS NOT A CHAIN LETTER JUST DO SOMETHING NICE FOR ONCE!) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Anthony Parkin Date: Wed, 17 Apr 1996 To: Subject: My dying wish My name is Anthony Parkin, and you don't know me. I'm 7 years old, and I have lukemea. I found your name using gopher, and I would like for you to carry out my dying wish of starting a chain letter. Please send this letter to five people you know so I can live forever. Thank You very much ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Friendship and love are the best gift that a person can recieve. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tickle Me Elmo This chain letter is cute; however it was circulated to thousands of Internet users. For cancer research...Tickle me! :-) Elmo __ __ .' '.' `. _.-| o | o |-._ .~ `.__.'.__.'^ ~. .~ ^ / \ ^ ~. \-._^ ^| | ^_.-/ `\ `-._ \___/ ^_.-' /' `\_ `--...--' /' `-.._______..-' /\ /\ __/ \__ | |/ /_ .'^ ^ `. .' `__\ .' ^ ^ `.__.'^ .\ \ .' ^ . ^ . ^ .' \/ / / ^ \'.__.' | ^ /| ^ | For every new person that this is passed on to The American Cancer Society will donate 3 cents to cancer research. Please help us. Forward this to everyone you know. Also add to your list ACS@aol.com Thanks for helping!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kidney Harvest Note that this letter claims that everything is true and documented but does not contain a single verifiable reference. "It's Not a Joke" Dear Friends, I wish to warn you about a new crime ring that is targeting business travelers. This ring is well organized, well funded, has very skilled personnel, and is currently in most major cities and recently very active in New Orleans. The crime begins when a business traveler goes to a lounge for a drink at the end of the work day. A person in the bar walks up as they sit alone and offers to buy them a drink. The last thing the traveler remembers until they wake up in a hotel room bath tub, their body submerged to their neck in ice, is sipping that drink. There is a note taped to the wall instructing them not to move and to call 911. A phone is on a small table next to the bathtub for them to call. The business traveler calls 911 who have become quite familiar with this crime. The business traveler is instructed by the 911 operator to very slowly and carefully reach behind them and feel if there is a tube protruding from their lower back. The business traveler finds the tube and answers, "Yes." The 911 operator tells them to remain still, having already sent paramedics to help. The operator knows that both of the business traveler's kidneys have been harvested. This is not a scam or out of a science fiction novel, it is real. It is documented and confirmable. If you travel or someone close to you travels, please be careful. Another email report: Yes, this does happen. My sister-in-law works with a lady that this happened to her son's neighbor who lives in Houston. The only "good" thing to this whole story is the fact that the people doing this horrible crime are very in tune to what complications can happen afterwards because of the details precautions they take the time to set up before leaving the room.The word from my sister-in-law is that the hospital in Las Vegas (yes, Vegas) prior to transferring him back to Houston stated that these people know exactly what they are doing. The incision, etc. was exact and clean. They use sterile equipment etc. and the hospital stated that other than the fact that the victim looses a kidney there has not been any reports of other complications due to non-sterile, etc. tactics that were used. Please be careful. Another email report: Sadly, this is very true. My husband is a Houston Firefighter/EMT and they have received alerts regarding this crime ring. It is to be taken very seriously. The daughter of a friend of a fellow firefighter had this happen to her. Skilled doctor's are performing these crimes (which, by the way have been highly noted in the Las Vegas area)! Additionally, the military has received alerts regarding this. If more information on the above subject is received it will be verified and passed on to keep you updated on this material. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PBS and NPR - Petition Below is a prime example of a chain letter that keeps circulating the Internet. If you receive this chain letter, please delete. David Brumley, the Network Administer at University of Northern Colorado informed CIAC of the following: "In 1995, a couple of students wrote a letter and sent it out to support funding for PBS and NPR. This letter was not intended to be a hoax, but instead was only a misguided attempt by some students of ours to do some good. After reading through the CIAC section on HOAX's, I decided to go ahead and verify that in fact this one should not be circulated. The students (one of whom has left the university since the posting) have been reprimanded." Subject: PBS and NPR - petition Please read this VERY IMPORTANT petition! I hope you will then sign it and pass it along to everyone you know. We've got to be active in saving these important institutions! Please sign! Thanks! This is for anyone who thinks NPR/PBS is a worthwhile expenditure of $1.12/year of their taxes (as opposed to, say, Newt Gingrich's salary?), a petition follows. If you sign, please forward on to others (not back to me). If not, please don't kill it -- send it to the email address listed here: wein2688@blue.univnorthco.edu PBS, NPR (National Public Radio), and the arts are facing major cutbacks in funding. In spite of the efforts of each station to reduce spending costs and streamline their services, some government officials believe that the funding currently going to these programs is too large a portion of funding for something which is seen as "unworthwhile". Currently, taxes from the general public for PBS equal $1.12 per person per year, and the National Endowment for the Arts equals $.64 a year in total. A January 1995 CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll indicated that 76% of Americans wish to keep funding for PBS, third only to national defense and law enforcement as the most valuable programs for federal funding. Each year, the Senate and House Appropriations committees each have 13 sub- committees with jurisdiction over many programs and agencies. Each subcommittee passes its own appropriation bill. The goal each year is to have each bill signed by the beginning of the fiscal year, which is October 1. The only way that our representatives can be aware of the base of support for PBS and funding for these types of programs is by making our voices heard. Please add your name to this list and forward it to friends if you believe in what we stand for. This list will be forwarded to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, and Representative Newt Gingrich, who is the instigator of the action to cut funding to these worthwhile programs. If you happen to be the 150th, 200th, 250th etc. signer of this petition, please forward a copy to: wein2688@blue.univnorthco.edu. If that address is inoperative, please send it to: kubi7975@blue.univnorthco.edu. This way we can keep track of the lists and organize them. Forward this to everyone you know, and help us to keep these programs alive. Thank you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hawaiian Good Luck Totem Hawaiian GOOD LUCK TOTEM \ \ \ | | | / / / > ========= ^ | O O | > / \ \ @' / # _| |_ ( # ) ( ) # \ / / | * * | \ \ > # \ / ( * ) / > # ====== # ( \ | / ) > # | | | | # .- -' | | ' ---. > # ' - - -' ' - - -' > This totem has been sent to you for good luck. It has been sent around the world ten times so far. You will receive good luck within four days of relaying this totem. Send copies to people you think need good luck. > Don't send money as fate has no price. Do not keep this message. The totem must leave your hands in 96 hours. Send ten copies and see what happens in four days. You will get a surprise. This is true, even if you are not superstitious. Good luck, but please remember: 10 copies of this message must leave your hands in 96 hours... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Everything You Never Wanted Everything you never wanted to know and were afraid to ask Here's what you're supposed to do. Copy this entire e-mail and change all of the answers so they apply to you. Then send it to everyone you know, INCLUDING me. So you should get back a lot of get-to-know-you e-mails. You'll learn a lot about your friends that you maybe didn't know. Please take 5 minutes of your day to do this. FULL NAME: NICKNAME(s) : HOMETOWN: BORN: CURRENT RESIDENCE: CROUTONS OR BACON BITS: FAVORITE SALAD DRESSING: DO YOU DRINK: SHAMPOO & CONDITIONER OR JUST CONDITIONER: HAVE YOU EVER GONE SKINNY DIPPING: DO YOU MAKE FUN OF PEOPLE: FAVORITE COLORS: HAVE YOU EVER BEEN CONVICTED OF A CRIME: BEST ON-LINE FRIENDS: ONE PILLOW OR TWO: PETS: FAVORITE TYPES OF MUSIC: DREAM CAR: TYPE OF CAR YOU DRIVE NOW: WHAT TYPE OF CAR WAS YOUR FIRST CAR: TOOTHPASTE: FAVORITE FOOD: DO YOU GET ALONG WITH YOUR PARENTS: FAVORITE TOWN TO CHILL IN: FAVORITE ICE CREAM: FAVORITE SOFT DRINK: FAVORITE TYPE OF FAMILY GAME TO PLAY: WHAT IS YOUR BAD TIME of DAY: FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR: ADIDAS, NIKE, OR REEBOK: FAVORITE PERFUME OR COLOGNE: FAVORITE WEBSITE: FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL: FAVORITE MOVIE YOU HAVE SEEN RECENTLY OR FAVORITE TYPE OF MOVIE: LEAST FAVORITE SUBJECT: FAVORITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK : FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH: MOST HUMILIATING MOMENT: CRAZIEST OR SILLIEST PERSON YOU KNOW: WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN THE OPPOSITE SEX: SAY ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU: PERSON YOU SENT THIS TO, WHO IS LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND: ------------------------------------------------------------------------