Imagine this

"It was approximately 5:15 am. In Opelousas, La. I had stayed with a friend there and was on my way to work. I stopped at the Exxon/Blimpie Pie station to get gas. I got $10 gas and a Diet Coke. I took into the store two $5 bills and one $1 bill (just enough to get my stuff).

As I pulled away from the store, a man approached my truck from the back side of the store (an unlit area) He was an 'approachable-looking' man (clean cut, clean shaven, dressed well, etc.) He walked up to my window and knocked.

Since I'm very paranoid and 'always looking for the rapist or killer,' I didn't open the window. I just asked what he wanted. He raised a $5 bill to my window and said, 'You dropped this.' Since I knew I had gone into the store with a certain amount of money, I knew I didn't drop it.

When Itold him it wasn't mine, he began hitting the window and door, screaming at me to open my door, and insisting that I had dropped the money! At that point, Ijust drove away as fast as I could."

Have you ever gotten this e-mail? These often emerge from real events, like a serial killer on the loose in Louisiana a few years back. Fear sparked many stories such as these, that continue to be circulated, even though the killer has been caught.

Though rumors are annoying, ones like these can serve a purpose other than increasing our paranoia. They can remind us to be aware of our surroundings at all times, especially when alone, and recognize unusual behavior. Also, I like how in one version the target asks an employee to escort her out. If in doubt, have someone walk you out! Good advice, even from e-mail rumors!

Read the rest of the story here: http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/batonrouge.asp

Barack Obama a Radical Muslim?

I received an e-mail this morning that started out like this:

"Who is Barack Obama? Very interesting info and something that should be considered in your choice for President. If you do not ever forward anything else, please forward this to all your contacts...this is very scary to think of what lies ahead of us here in our own United States...better heed this and pray about it and share it. We checked this out on "snopes.com". It is factual. Check for yourself."

It goes on to claim that Barack Obama is actually a radical Muslim, instead of a Christian as he claims. And that he refuses to put his hand on his heart during the national anthem or to say the pledge of allegiance.

What I liked best about the e-mail is that it tells you to check out Snopes for yourself--really makes it sound legit, doesn't it? Well, if you actually check out snopes and their evidence, you'll find that this e-mail is actually a hoax full of false allegations. Here are the links to the Snopes articles I found:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/anthem.asp

The photograph in question in the second article was a true photograph, but claims that Obama routinely doesnt't put his hand over his heart during the anthem or refuses to say the Pledge are unfounded.

Lesson: Don't believe everything you read, especially in e-mails. Check it out on Snopes.com or other sources, especially before you forward it to lots of other people. That's how smear-campaigns and rumors are spread--people sharing information that they don't even investigate for accuracy.

There's enough political yuck going on already between the candidates themselves, don't you think? We don't need to propagate it.

A Snopes-ed out story

Hadn't had one of these for a while. My sweet niece Alycia sent this to me. Have you heard it?

State Police Warning (serious)

DON'T FLASH HEADLIGHTS AT ANY CAR WITH NO LIGHTS ON!!

Police office rs working with the DARE program have issued this Warning: If you are driving after dark and see and on-coming carwith no headlights on, DO NOT FLASH YOUR LIGHTS AT THEM!

This is acommon Bloods member 'initiation game' that goes like this: The newgang member under initiation drives along with no headlights, andthe first car to flash their headlights at him is now his 'target.'.He is now required to turn around and chase that car, thenshoot and kill every individual in the e vehicle in order to completehis initiation requirements.

Police Depts across the nation arebeing warned.Their intent is to have all the new bloods nationwide drivearound on Friday and Saturday nights with their headlights off. In order to be accepted into the gang, they have to shoot and kill allindividuals in the first auto that does a courtesy flash to warnthem that their lights are off.

Make sure you share this information with all the drivers inyour family! Please forward this message to all your friends andfamily members to inform them about this initiation ritual.

I Snopes-ed it out for you here: http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/lightsout.asp

Thanks Alycia! Keep sending any thing you get that is questionable, and I'll Snopes out what's real and what's not.

Snopes-ing out your Pancake Mix

I received this e-mail from my sis-in-law today. If you use boxed pancake mixes like Bisquick--especially ones that are not resealable or just in cardboard without wax-lined bags, read on:

"I recently made a batch of pancakes for my healthy 14-year-old son, using a mix that was in our pantry. He said that they tasted "funny," but ate them anyway. About 10 minutes later, he began having difficulty breathing and his lips began turning purple. I gave him his allergy pill, had him sit on the sofa and told him to relax. He was wheezing while inhaling and exhaling. "....The e-mail goes on to claim that old pancake mix contaminated with mold had caused an allergic reaction that could have been life-threatening. The e-mail I got even included the link to the Snopes article. It turns out to be potentially true and there is at least one medically documented case of someone dying because of it. Here's the article:

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/pancake.asp

A Snopesed-Out Amber Alert

I got this e-mail yesterday and Snopes-ed it out. So many missing child e-mails are fakes, but this one, unfortunately, is NOT. This little girl went missing from her North Dakota home last May, and according to Snopes, the man who allegedly kidnapped her was found dead of apparent suicide. He left no clues as to her wherabouts. The search has dwindled. Let's pray that answers will be found so her family will have some closure on this. Here's the Snopes article: http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/missing/reachelle.asp

Gift card thieves!

Here's the e-mail, allegedly from the Shepherdsville, KY police department:

"CRIME ALERT!!!!

Stolen Gift Card Balances

Well, the crooks have found a way to rob you of your gift card balance.
If you buy Gift Cards from a display rack that has various store cards you may become a victim of theft. Crooks are now jotting down the card numbers in the store and then wait a few days and call to see how much of a balance THEY have on the card. Once they find the card is "activated", they go online and start shopping. You may want to
purchase your card from a customer service person, where they do not have the Gift Cards viewable to the public. Please share this with all your family and friends.

Michaela Frank
Shepherdsville Police Department
(502) 921-1000"

This one happens to be true, but originated in Oregon. Snopes has a really good article that gives real scenarios and good tips to help prevent theft. Check it out:

http://www.snopes.com/fraud/sales/giftcard.asp

A Gruesome Warning

An e-mail from "Maggie" this morning:

"prepare for a downer, but a good precaution I suppose!

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/gruesome/leafpile.asp"

This one is true according to Snopes, unfortunately. So, be careful around your leaf piles this fall!

The Worst Computer Virus EVER!

The e-mail:

"WARNING
You should be alert during the next days: Do not open any message with an attached filed called "Invitation" regardless of who sent it. It is a virus that opens an Olympic Torch which "burns" the whole hard disc C of your computer. This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address in his/her contact list, that is why you should send this e-mail to all your contacts. It is better to receive this message 25 times than to receive the virus and open it. If you receive a mail called "invitation", though sent by a friend, do not open it and shut down your computer immediately.
This is the worst virus announced by CNN, it has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever. This virus was discovered by McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus. This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital information is kept.
SEND THIS E-MAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW, COPY THIS E-MAIL AND SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS AND REMEMBER: IF YOU SEND IT TO THEM, YOU WILL BENEFIT ALL OF US "

Oh, my! It sounds awful--it can erase your whole hard drive.....or CAN IT???

See what I Snopes-ed out: http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/invitation.asp

Cancer in your Inbox

There are many variations of this e-mail. They usually seem to be written by a sick kid or caregiver of a sick kid and claim that every time you forward an e-mail, money will be donated to a certain charity or to the sick kid. If you think about it logically, the charities have NO way to track e-mails like this. Instead of passing it on unquestioningly, just visit the charity's website and donate if you feel led. Much more productive! Here's the e-mail I received and the Snopes link:

"Subject: 7 year old with cancer

Hi, my name is Amy Bruce. I am 7 years old, and I have a large tumor on my brain and severe lung cancer. The doctors say I will die soon if this isn't fixed, and my family can't pay the bills. "The Make A Wish Foundation" has agreed to donate 7 cents for every time this message is sent on. For those of you who send this along, I thank you so much. But for those who don't send it, I will still pray for you. Please, if you are a kind person, have a heart. Please,please,PLEASE HIT THE FORWARD BUTTON.

Amy Bruce
Wake Forest Outpatient Dialysis"

Read the Snopes article here: http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/medical/amybruce.asp

*Note: I am in NO way trying to make people feel bad for sending me things or for believing phony e-mails. I've believed a lot of them too. I just want to increase awareness of all the prankster e-mails floating along out there so we can discern what is real and what's not. If you get something fishy, check it out on Snopes for yourself--they usually will tell you what's what, or check out the website in question. Also, send them along to me so I can post them here. Everyone who reads about it will be informed.

"Paypal" phishing scam--beware!!

I dont' know how many of these I've gotten over the past couple months, but it's a lot. If you have a Paypal account, you should be aware of this. I was almost duped the first time I got it--it looks really believable, with the Paypal logo, and transaction ID's, etc, but when you scroll over the links on the page, you can see on the info bar at the bottom of your browser that they don't match up. You can also log into your Paypal account and see if there are any suspicious transactions on there, like the e-mail claims. If you do get one of these, send it to spoof@paypal.com. Here is what the e-mail generally consists of, so be on the lookout:

Dear PayPal member,
As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in the PayPal system.We recently noticed the following issue on your account:
We have reason to believe that your account was accessed by a third party.We discover unauthorized money transfer:
Amount: 22.47 $
Transaction ID: #13Y17222818UY182281
PayPal e-mail address: This address will vary with each phishing attempt, and they want you to think that this "person" has taken money from your account.
Transaction Date: October - 23 - 2006
Because protecting the security of your account is our primary concern, we have limited access to sensitive PayPal account features. We understandthat this may be an inconvenience but please understand that this temporarylimitation is for your protection.
Case ID Number: PP-163-413-717
For your protection, we have limited access to your account until additional security measures can be completed. We apologize for anyinconvenience this may cause.
To restore your PayPal account and refund the 22.47 $ back to your bank account or PayPal balance click the LogIn button bellow orthe SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Log In :

Here they list a couple links that they want you to click on. One is named www.paypal.com, but when you move your cursor over it, you'll see the actual web address on the bottom of your browser is actually different. The other link is a "secure sockets layer", and this link is also false.

If, after reviewing your account information and refund the money, you seekfurther clarification regarding your account access, please contact PayPalby visiting the Help Center and clicking "Contact Us".We thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please understandthat this is a security measure intended to help protect you and youraccount. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Sincerely,PayPal Account Review DepartmentPayPal Email ID PP122

Credit card scam?

My Aunt Lu sent this one the other day:
"This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with all information, except the one piece they want.Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it. By understanding how this Credit Card scam works, you'll be better prepared to protect yourself.The scam works like this: Person calling says, " I'm calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460. Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a Marketing company based in Arizona?"

Did I "Snopes" it out? Of course! See the results here:
http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/creditcard.asp

Another Snopes-ed out article!

Have you seen the e-mail claiming that Swiffer Wet-Jet killed someone's pets? I got this one today, and Snopes-ed it out. Here's the article:

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/swiffer.asp