News

The “Organ Theft” Hoax (aggiornato il 17 Maggio 1998)

Organ Theft Hoax Warning

This story came from the “INSERT ANY NEWSPAPER HERE”
newspaper. Apparently it occurred during Fall Premier-a
University tradition that is a celebration of the end of
midterms. “Reason to not party anymore”- This guy went out
last Saturday night to a party. He was having a good time,
had a couple of beers and some girl seemed to like him and
invited him to go to another party. He quickly agreed and
decided to go along with her. She took him to a party in
some apartment and they continued= to drink, and even got
involved with some other drugs (unknown which). The next
thing he knew, he woke up completely naked in a bathtub
filled with ice.

He was still feeling the effects of the drugs, but looked
around to see he was alone. He looked down at his chest,
which had: “CALL 911 OR YOU WILL DIE” written on it in
lipstick. He saw a phone was on a stand next to the tub, so
he picked it up and dialed. He explained to the EMS operator
what the situation was and that he didn’t know where he was,
what he took, or why he was really calling. She advised him
to get out of the tub. He did, and she asked him to look
himself over in the mirror. He did, and appeared normal, so
she t= old him to check his back. He did, only to find two 9
inch slits on his lower back. She told him to get back in
the tub immediately, and they sent a rescue team over.

Apparently, after being examined, he found out more of what
had happened. His kidneys were stolen. They are worth
10,000 dollars each on the black market.

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 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. 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. This story blew
me away. I really want as many people to see this as
possible so please bounce this to whoever you can.

Speeding Ticket Hoax

I tried to pass this one to anyone I could think of.
I know for a fact that this works so if you ever get in this
situation, you have an out This procedure works in any
state.
Read it and try it, you have nothing to loose but the
points in your license.” Nameless author.

If u get a speeding ticket or went through a red light or
whatever the case may be, and you are going to get points on
your license, then there is a method to ensure that you DO
NOT get any points. When u get your fine, send in the check
to pay for it and if the fine is say $79, then make the
check out for $82 or some small amount above the fine. The
system will then have to send you back a check for the
difference, but here is the trick! —DO NOT CASH THE
CHECK!! Throw it away! Points are not assessed to your
license until all the financial transactions are complete.
If you do not cash the check, then the transactions are not
complete. However the system has gotten its money so it is
happy and will not bother you any more.

17 Novembre 1998

La minaccia per l’mp3 si chiama Podloso

Direttamente dal TGCom di Mediaset:
“La minaccia per l’mp3 si chiama Podloso
La Kaspersky Labs, azienda russa leader nella sicurezza del settore information tecnology, ha dato la notizia che anche l’iPod può essere infettato dai virus informatici. Per il popolare mp3 della casa di Cupertino, che da poco ha raggiunto i cento milioni di pezzi venduti, il rischio si chiama “Podloso”: un virus che attacca il sistema Linux una volta installato sul lettore. Per il momento è considerato dai ricercatori un virus dimostrativo di facile rimozione.
Podloso attivo sul software dell’ iPod infetta alcuni files del sistema del Pinguino, files che, quando vengono richiamati dall’utente, fanno apparire sul display la scritta: “You are infected with Oslo the first iPodLinux Virus” (“Sei stato infettatto con Oslo, il primo virus per iPod con Linux”).
I ricercatori del Kaspery Labs considerano il virus un “proof-of-concept”, una sorta di virus dimostrativo, che non rappresenta un pericolo reale. Infatti prevede che Linux sia prima caricato manualmente dall’utente sull’ iPod, operazione che pochissimi finora hanno fatto, e poi venga caricato nel player lo stesso “Podloso”. Inoltre la rimozione del virus può essere facilmente effettuata con gli ativirus specifici per Linux.”

(NdR: definirlo “virus”, almeno per il concetto informatico di virus, mi pare un tantino azzardato, date le modalità di propagazione e, soprattutto, considerando l’esigua quantità di iPod su cui viene installato Linux.
Un bell’esercizio di stile, molto accademico)