Hoax Warnings


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HIV needles hoax

The following message is a hoax:

  ***********DANGEROUS PRANK:*****************
 Please read and forward to anyone you know who drives.

 My name is Captain Abraham Sands of the Jacksonville, Florida Police
 Department.  I have been asked by state and local authorities to write
 this email in order to get the word out to car drivers of a very
 dangerous prank that is occurring in numerous states.

 Some person or persons have been affixing hypodermic needles to the
 underside of gas pump  handles.  These needles appear to be infected
 with HIV positive blood.  In the Jacksonville area alone there have been
 17 cases of people being stuck by these needles over the past five
 months. We have verified reports of at least 12 others in various states
 around the country. It is believed that these may be copycat incidents
 due to someone reading about the crimes or seeing them reported on
 the television.  At this point no one has been arrested and catching the
 perpetrator(s) has become our top priority.

 Shockingly, of the 17 people who where stuck, eight have tested HIV
 positive and because of the nature of the disease, the others could
 test positive in a couple years. Evidently the consumers go to fill
 their car with gas, and when  picking up the pump handle get stuck with
 the infected needle.   IT IS  IMPERATIVE TO CAREFULLY CHECK THE HANDLE
 of the gas pump each time you use one.  LOOK  AT EVERY SURFACE YOUR HAND
 MAY TOUCH, INCLUDING UNDER THE HANDLE. If you do find a needle affixed
 to one, immediately contact your local police department so they can
 collect the evidence.

Additional information is available at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/faq/faq5a.htm .

The following version was circulated in Australia during October 2001

  Subject: A message from Red Cross blood service

  This is what the world is coming to...
  Sad to see the world has come to this...

  HIV Warning A few weeks ago, in a movie theatre in Melbourne, a person sat
  on something that was poking out of one of the seats.  When she got up to
  see what it was, she found a needle sticking out of the seat with a note
  attached saying...  "You have just been infected by HIV".  The Disease
  Control Centre in Melbourne reports many similar incidents have occurred
  in many other Australian cities recently.  All tested needles ARE HIV
  Positive.  The Centre also reports that needles have been found in the
  cash dispensers in ATMs.  We ask everyone to use extreme caution when
  faced with this kind of situation.  All public chairs/seats should be
  inspected with vigilance and caution before use.  A careful visual
  inspection should be enough.  In addition, they ask that each of you pass
  this message along to all members of your family and your friends of the
  potential danger.  We all have to be careful at public places!  This is
  very important.  Just think about saving a life of someone even you don't
  know by forwarding this message.  Please take a few seconds of your time
  to pass it along.

Additional information is available at Australian Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org.au/

Please ignore these messages and do not pass them on.

[Last modified: October 2001]