Hoax Warnings


	Alphabetical Index

NAME:

Join the Crew

This is a variant of the Good Times hoax. It was started by a message posted to some usenet newsgroups in February 1997 and it was still going around in late 1997. The original message was like this:

  Hey, just to let you guys know one of my friends recieved an
  email called "Join the Crew," and it erased her entire hard
  drive.  This is that new virus that is going around.  Just be
  careful of what mail you read.  Just trying to be helpful...

There exists another version of this hoax:

 Subject: Fw: Virus Warning

 WARNING Message from IBM

 If you receive an e-mail titled JOIN THE CREW/for PENPALS DO NOT
 open it! It will erase EVERYTHING on your hard drive! Send this
 letter out to as many people as you can. This is a new virus and
 not many people know about it! This information was received
 this morning by IBM.

 Please share it with anyone that might access the internet!!
 PENPAL 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 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 box! This virus will destroy your
 hard drive and holds the potential to DESTROY the hard drive of
 anyone whose mail is in your box and whose mail is in their box
 and so on and on! So delete any message title PENPAL or JOIN THE
 CREW. This virus can do major to worldwide networks!

 PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND PEOPLE IN YOUR
 MAILBOXES. AOL HAS SAID THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS VIRUS AND THERE
 IS NO REMEDY FOR THIS. FORWARD IT TO ALL YOUR ON-LINE FRIENDS
 A.S.A.P.!

There is also a variant with essentially the same message but which talks about an email called "Join the Club".

If you receive these messages please don't spread them any further.