What is an email hoax and why should I be wary of one?
An email hoax is like a prank call to your email. Typically forwarded by a well-meaning relative, friend or associate, these messages are in reality written by pranksters. They range from urban legends and tall tails to false warnings about non-existent viruses. For example, JDBGMGR.EXE hoax was recently spread by millions of people who incorrectly thought it was a legitimate warning about a virus. Below is a portion of the message that was most often forwarded: “Hi, everybody: I just received a message today from one of my friends in my Address Book. Their Address Book had been infected by a virus and it was passed on to my computer. My Address Book, in turn, has been infected. The virus is called jdbgmgr.exe and it propagates automatically through Messenger and through the address book. The virus is not detected by McAfee or Norton and it stays dormant for 14 days before wipe out the whole system. It can be deleted before it erase your computer files. To delete it…” At best, hoaxes
An email hoax is like a prank call to your email. Typically forwarded by a well-meaning relative, friend or associate, these messages are in reality written by pranksters. They range from urban legends and tall tails to false warnings about non-existent viruses. For example, JDBGMGR.EXE hoax was recently spread by millions of people who incorrectly thought it was a legitimate warning about a virus. Below is a portion of the message that was most often forwarded: “Hi, everybody: I just received a message today from one of my friends in my Address Book. Their Address Book had been infected by a virus and it was passed on to my computer. My Address Book, in turn, has been infected. The virus is called jdbgmgr.exe and it propagates automatically through Messenger and through the address book. The virus is not detected by McAfee or Norton and it stays dormant for 14 days before wipe out the whole system. It can be deleted before it erase your computer files. To delete it…” At best, hoaxes
