A hoax is a hoax, of course, unless of course that hoax is Craig Shergold, in which case it’s a fiasco.
Several persistent hoaxes live a seemingly immortal life on the Internet, which can spread an untrue rumor like wildfire as the messages pass back and forth across the world at near light speed, increasing it’s reach with each carbon copy and forwarding address added to the list.
By far the most popular form of hoaxing is the "E-Mail Virus" hoax. All users of Internet e-mail can expect to receive at least one copy of the "Good Times Virus Warning" from a well meaning, but often computer illiterate friend who dutifully passes the message on as per the instructions in this very common electronic e-mail hoax. The message warns of an e-mail that can crash your computer and erase all the files just by clicking on an e-mail message.
Of course, it is not possible to catch a virus from reading an e-mail message, as computer viruses and trojan horse program do their damage by running an executable program on your computer, which can’t be done simply by looking at an e-mail message.
Here are some indicators that would identify this type of hoax.
A good place to find authoritative information on the variations of this type of hoax is CIAC, a U.S. Department of Energy computer virus warning website.
One other type of hoax that has found immortal life on the internet is the "sick child" hoax. This usually manifests itself as a plea for a sick and dying child, who’s only wish is to set a record for get well cards before he dies. This story seems to come from a news story in 1989 about Craig Shergold, a 9-year-old English boy diagnosed with a brain tumor. His wish to get in the Guiness book was fulfilled in 1990 after receiving millions of cards. With the advent of e-mail, this "urban legend" won’t die, and the boy continues to receive cards in unbelievable quantities. In an effort to stop the onslaught of mail, he even went on US TV last year to plea for people to stop. In a cockney accent, the now cured 17 year old asked everyone to "please stop sending them, I’m all cured now" and explained it takes a lot of time to deal with all the mail.
This story has been repeated many times and although the names of the dying child are changed, the plea is almost always the same. If this type of message arrives in your e-mail inbox, it’s probably just best to hit the delete key, and not forward it.
Another persistent and well known urban myth that lives within the annals of cyberspace is the Neiman Marcus cookie recipe story. This story tells of the woman who loved the chocolate chip cookies she had at Neiman Marcus, so she asked for the recipe. The clerk told her it would be "two-fifty" so she had them put it on her credit card. When she received the bill from the credit card company, it was for two-hundred and fifty, so she wants to spread the recipe to everyone she can so she gets her money’s worth. The trouble is, Neiman Marcus never had cookies until the myth got out of control, so they made a cookie recipe to give away for free. You can read their side of the story at Nieman Marcus's Web Site.
One more popular letter, driven by chain letter, is the claim that the FCC is going to impose a modem tax. This rumor started back in 1987, when the FCC originally looked at leveling fees on online providers such as Compuserve, and gained life in recent years. The FCC dropped this idea long ago, and have no current plans to impose these fees on providers, but the message to send your comments to the FCC continues to circulate today.
One last good source of up to date information on virus hoaxes and other urban legends that have been spread through the Internet is The Kumite Virus Myths Page. This clearinghouse has links to all the legends mentioned above, as well as many others.