Hoax Warnings


	Alphabetical Index

NAME:

Penpal Greetings

This widespread hoax has been going around since 1996, and is common now once again in the fall of 1997. The hoax is a warning about a dangerous e-mail message titled 'Penpal greetings'. No such danger exists. This hoax is very similar to Good Times. Here's an example of the hoax warning:

 If anyone receives mail entitled: PENPAL GREETINGS! please
 delete it WITHOUT reading it.

  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 potntial to do a great
  deal of DAMAGE to computer networks worldwide!!!!

  Please, delete the message entitled "PENPAL GREETINGS!" as soon
  as you see it! 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!!!!

Ignore this hoax warning and do not pass it on.