Category Archives: Internet hoax

Copyright, Copyright Status, Facebook, Food for Thought, Hoax, Internet, Internet hoax, Internet security, Social media, This is Life

Stop Sharing That Meaningless Copyright Status on Facebook

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Myself . 

By T. V. Antony Raj

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If you have been on Facebook for the last three or four days, you would have probably seen an almost serious looking post or one of its many garbled variations shared as someone’s Facebook status.

Here is a screen grab of one of the versions:

Permission for FB

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Various versions of this status have popped up on since 2012, which are just elaborate hoaxes that have plagued the social-network site for years, and you too might have seen them on your FB pages from time to time.

Do you think copying  and posting such a short note that seems to contain complicated and official legalese will protect the privacy and confidentiality of your Facebook account from that moment onwards and privatize the photos and videos you post?

In reality, posting such status on your Facebook page will not change any privacy rules.

If you think that posting such a status on your Facebook page is the right thing to do, then why are you still posting photos and other items on Facebook under your banner? Would it not be better to deactivate your account?

Remember that social media is not the place for “private and confidential” information. If you do not give permission to use your pictures, etc., how would Facebook show them to your friends?

When you agree to Facebook’s terms of use, you give Facebook a non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any content you post. You do not need to declare anything about copyright issues since the law already protects you. Hence, any privacy declaration on your part is worthless and does not mean anything.

On November 26, 2012, Max Read published an article titled “That Facebook Copyright Thing Is Meaningless and You Should Stop Sharing It” wherein he dissects this status post line by line and counters them with excellent explanations.

Facebook addressed the rumours years ago in a fact-checking blog post about the change related to ownership of users’ information or content they post to the site.

Copyright Meme Spreading on Facebook

Copyright Meme Spreading on Facebook

There is a rumor circulating that Facebook is making a change related to ownership of users’ information or the content they post to the site. This is false. Anyone who uses Facebook owns and controls the content and information they post, as stated in our terms. They control how that content and information is shared. That is our policy, and it always has been.

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Photo of the ‘Syrian Boy’ Sleeping Between the Graves of His Parents

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Myself . By T.V. Antony Raj

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A little boy from Syria sleeping between the graves of his parents. (Photo by abdulaziz_099)
A little boy from Syria sleeping between the graves of his parents. (Photo by abdulaziz_099)

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If you regularly visit your social media pages, you would have certainly come across this photo of the little Syrian boy covered by a blanket purportedly sleeping between the graves of his parents.

This heartrending image is a fake and is not related to the current happenings in Syria. However, the image went viral on the net because many people appropriated it on social networks to reflect the tragic situation in Syria without knowing it was a fake that originated not from Syria, but from Saudi Arabia.

One source claims  it has been viewed over a million times on Imgur. It evoked lots of sympathy. Here are some comments I came across on Reddit:

  • I think the part that got me right in the heart is the fact that he looks peaceful and happy. Like nothings wrong. God damn it, I just made it worse.
  • He must have already seen some horrible things, and it seems he is now in peace, sleeping next to his mommy and daddy. Even if they aren’t alive anymore, they are still his source of comfort. This is sad on so many levels.
  • The more you think about it the deeper it goes until you’re looking down at the planet saying, wtf!
  • ****. Why’d you have to call them “mommy” and “daddy” that just makes it too real.
  • It’ll be a whole different world when he wakes.
  • This is actually the saddest picture I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen a lot of fucking morbid, disgusting, blood-soaked pictures and I’ve never batted an eye since I’m so desensitized to it, but I can barely hold in tears as I look at this one. What that kid has experienced is the epitome of non-physical human suffering. His parents aren’t coming back, man.
  • In the Middle East death is not something we’re not used to, unfortunately. Most simply embrace it due to how difficult life is.
  • I didn’t see peaceful and happy, I see a kid who doesn’t know what to do. His world is gone. I’m 40 and can’t stand the thought of losing my parents, and when they go I’ll be crushed. 8-ish years old? Jesus.

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Photographer Abdul Aziz
Photographer Abdul Aziz al-Otaibi

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Blogger Harald Doornbos claims he unearthed the truth behind the photograph by interviewing the photographer Abdul Aziz Al-Otaibi, a 25-year-old Saudi national and published it on his blog. 

According to Harald Doornbos, Abdul Aziz lives in Yanbu al Bahr, a major Red Sea port in the Al Madinah province of western Saudi Arabia, about 250 kilometers northwest of Jeddah.

Abdul Aziz is a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), Savannah, Georgia in USA. His major is Photography. As a keen photographer brimming with ideas, Abdul Aziz as a project wanted to depict the irreplaceable love of a child for his parents, even  if they are dead. So, three weeks ago, he drove to the outskirts of Yanbu with his nephew. There after piling stones to resemble two graves, he bade his nephew lie between two ‘graves’ and covered him with a blanket.

Abdul Aziz  Al-Otaibi has the following social media accounts:

He posted the photograph on Facebook. He made it very clear on Facebook that the graves were not real. He even published pictures of his smiling nephew seated next to the graves. Abdul Aziz told Harald Doornbos: “I also published the backstage story. I just wanted to be sure that people drew no wrong conclusions.”

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Screenshot of Facebook page -abdulaziz_099
Screenshot of Facebook page -abdulaziz_099

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Though Abdul Aziz published this creation as an art work, an American Muslim convert posted the picture on his twitter account @americanbadu, that has over 187,000 followers. He claimed the picture was from Syria and suggested that the Assad-regime killed the parents of the sleeping boy.

The image spreads like wildfire. Hundreds of accounts, especially in jihad circles re-tweeted the picture from @americanbadu. An Islamic NGO from Kuwait, @Yathalema, with 175,000 followers tweeted the image. 

Even the Syrian opposition leader Ahmed Jarba failed to verify the authenticity of the image and tweeted it on Friday, January 17, 2014. He too did not fail to accuse Assad on wretched fate of the boy in the  picture. Here is the image of Jarba’s tweet:

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Source: blog.foreignpolicy.com
Source: blog.foreignpolicy.com

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Jarba deleted the photo of the boy beside the graves about 30 minutes after posting it.

Harald Doornbos says: “By now the picture goes viral. Nobody checks if the image was indeed from Syria. I was the first reporter who called Al-Otaibi to ask.“

In the meantime, photographer Abdul Aziz Al-Otaibi complained via Direct Message (DM) to @americanbadu: “Why did you take my picture and claim it as an image from Syria? Please correct it.”

@americanbadu replied via DM: “Why don’t you just let go and claim it is a picture from Syria and gain a reward from God. You are exaggerating.”

Shortly after, @americanbadu removed his tweet. Nevertheless, the  irreversible damage was already done.

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Food for Thought, Hoax, Internet hoax, Ontario Lottery Corporation email, Post A Day 2013, Scam, This is Life, tvaraj, United Kingdom

Beware of this “Goodnews” Email Scam!

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Myself . By T.V. Antony Raj

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A week ago I received the following email which obviously is a scam.

The “to:” field is empty.

Does this statement: “Your Email ID makes you Lucky of sum pay out of 2,500,000.00 in NOKIA UK”, make any sense? The pay out is a mere 2,500,000.00 and in what currency?

This is the prelude message sent by a confidence trickster that asks for Personally identifiable information, similar to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation scam.

If you receive any similar letter I recommend you to ignore it and desist from replying, however tempting the “pay out” amount might be.

Goodnews

from:  Berlinda Eghuizen <b.eghuizen@windesheim.nl>
to:
date:  Tue, Sep 24, 2013 at 11:57 AM
subject:  Goodnews
mailed-by:  windesheim.nl
Your Email ID makes you Lucky of sum pay out of 2,500,000.00 in NOKIA UK
Send Info: Name,Address and Tel No. To ( tomwestmiller@nokiamail.com )


Is deze mail niet voor u bedoeld? Informeer dan alstublieft degene die de mail heeft verzonden. Verwijder het bericht en eventuele bijlagen en openbaar de inhoud niet aan derden.

This message is intended for the exclusive use of the person(s) mentioned as recipient(s) and may contain personal and/or confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete this message from your system immediately. Directly or indirectly copying, disclosing, distributing, printing, publicising and/or in any way using this message or any part thereof by any means is strictly prohibited if you are not the intended recipient(s).

Goodnews scam

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Beware of this “Microsoft Game Studios’ Microsoft Online Promotion” Scam

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Myself . By T.V. Antony Raj

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On browsing through the mails I received sometimes back, I came across an email similar to the Ontario Lottery Corporation scam email; however, this time purporting to be from Microsoft.

It said, “Please Read Attached Letter…” with the following image attachment labeled “MGS Awarded You 810,000.00 USD”.

MGS Awarded You 810,000.00 USD

If you receive an email with an attachment similar to the above DO NOT RESPOND.

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Internet Photo Hoax: “Skeleton of Giant Found in India”

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Myself . 

By T. V. Antony Raj

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Bhima's son Gadotkach-like skeleton found
Image courtesy IronKite

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The above image of a giant’s skeleton is in fact a digital collage of three different photos created by a Canadian illustrator using the alias IronKite. It was placed third in a 2002 competition titled “Archaeological Anomalies 2,” run by Worth1000, a website that hosts contests for digital artists. The website asked contestants to create a hoax archaeological discovery.

Blogs, emails, and even a newspaper have used the above “photograph” to give credence and to substantiate their so-called reports that the National Geographic Society had discovered an ancient race of human giants in India.

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Bhima's son Gadotkach-like skeleton found - 2

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Recently, I came across the above image of a news item included in a YouTube video titled “RACE OF GIANTS found in India” uploaded by YTABUSESusers on December 15, 2008. This news, submitted by G. Subramaniam of Chennai, in a less known Indian newspaper called “Hindu Voice” looked dubious. It does not carry the date of publication.

In the article titled “Skeleton of Giant” Is Internet Photo Hoax” in National Geographic News, James Owen wrote: “An often cited March 2007 article in India’s Hindu Voice monthly, for example, claimed that a National Geographic Society team, in collaboration with the Indian Army, had dug up a giant human skeleton in India.”

Subramaniam reported:

“Recent exploration activity in the northern region of India uncovered a skeletal remains of a human of phenomenal size.” The story went on to say “The discovery was made by National Geographic Team (India Division) with support from the Indian Army since the area comes under jurisdiction of the Army.”

Hindu Voice magazineHowever, the monthly, “Hindu Voice,” based in Mumbai (Bombay), published a retraction after readers alerted its editor P. Deivamuthu to the hoax. The editor said: “We are against spreading lies and canards,” and he added “Moreover, our readers are a highly intellectual class and will not brook any nonsense.”

On December 14, 2007, James Owen for National Geographic News wrote: “The National Geographic Society has not discovered ancient giant humans, despite rampant reports and pictures.”

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Canadian artist IronKite used this mastodon-excavation photo taken in 2000 in Hyde Park, New York as the basis for his entry in an online photo-manipulation contest

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IronKite used the above photo taken in 2000 of a mastodon-excavation in Hyde Park, New York as the basis for his photo-manipulation.

In December 2007, he told National Geographic News that he digitally superimposed a human skeleton over the mastodon-dig photo. Later on, he added a man holding a shovel and re-colored his clothing to match that of the man in the above, authentic picture. The goal was to make the shoveler appear to be part of the excavation team. “To create the photo collage, I kept most of the wood frame from the dig site and replaced most of the muddy dirt with ground from the skeleton picture, using a fuzzy ‘brush’ to fade the two so no hard lines would be visible,” IronKite said.

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Mastodon-excavation photo taken in 2000 in Hyde Park, New York
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Though the above authentic photograph of the New York State mastodon excavation was not used to create the completed ‘giant’ skeleton image, it served as the foundation for the digital artwork.

Since 2004, this digitally manipulated artwork inspired unfounded reports of archaeologists unearthing a skeleton of an ancient human giant in India. IronKite, the Canadian digital artist, had nothing to do with the subsequent hoax.

Avi Muchnick who runs Worth1000, the web site that sponsored the photo-manipulation contests that inspired this fake photo said: “We have thousands of people who regularly create images like these in image-editing tools like Phoenix and Photoshop. So, it’s no surprise to us when some of these images get passed around the web as authentic depictions of actual events.”

James Owen wrote: “Variations of the giant photo hoax include alleged discovery of a 60- to 80-foot long (18- to 24-meter) human skeleton in Saudi Arabia. In one popular take, which likewise first surfaced in 2004, an oil-exploration team is said to have made the find. Here the skeleton is held up as evidence of giants mentioned in Islamic, rather than Hindu, scriptures.”

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Dubious Posts in Social Media Mislead Society About Anti-rape Laws

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Myself . By T.V. Antony Raj

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I have repeatedly said in my posts on my website “Impressions ~ of what comes to my mind” and in my Facebook page not to believe everything posted on social media websites such as Facebook. Here is one such post with dubious information that is  going viral on the social media:

Finally a new law passed

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The above message that I came across recently on Facebook was an outcome of the Delhi gang rape of December 16, 2012 that incited people nationwide, from every strata of our civil society, to demand for strict anti-rape laws. Everyone started exploring the existing laws for punishing the rapists under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Currently, a flood of Short Message Service (SMS) and social medium posts carrying information about a “new anti-rape law” being passed are misguiding people, despite the disclaim by legal professionals and members of the judiciary to the contrary. Even educated folk presume that it is their bounden duty to circulate these erroneous messages to all their friends thinking that it is a major development with the country’s leaders finally caring about the female population in our society.

This Section 233  in The Indian Penal Code, 1860 has nothing to do with “Rape”. In fact, it deals with counterfeiting coins. It states:

Making or selling instrument for counterfeiting coin.– Whoever makes or mends, or performs any part of the process of making or mending, or buys, sells or disposes of, any die or instrument, for the purpose of being used, or knowing or having reason to believe that it is intended to be used, for the purpose of counterfeiting coin, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extended to three years, and shall also be liable to fine.

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Hoax: A 14-Year-Old Boy Was Shot Six Times By His Stepfather

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Myself . 

By T. V. Antony Raj

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Since 1997, we have seen in circulation hoax emails appealing with phrases such as: “Forward this message to others and help fund medical care for a sick or dying child“.

Invariably, these messages named a large charity as the benefactor that stood ready to direct monies towards the costs of medical care for a child fighting for life. That trend continued into 2010.

Here is a heart-wringing message I came across on Facebook.

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Boy was shot 6 times by his step dad

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Everyone with a sympathetic heart wants to help sick children to get better. The message about a little boy or a little girl suffering from some dreaded disease or infirmity certainly tugs the heartstrings of many. Even so, on the internet pranksters play upon the pathos of others for their personal odious amusement.

Search through the archives on the internet failed to turn up any news about the shooting of any young man by his stepfather and his struggle for life in any hospital.

Lamentably, this message is a hoax.

This message does not give the date and the place where this incident occurred nor does it mention the name of the hospital that takes care of the boy.

Similar appeals to save a young life began circulating first through e-mails and later as cell phone text messages and in social websites such as Facebook.

Here are three earlier versions of this hoax message cited by snopes.com:

Version #1:

[Collected via e-mail, February 2010]

Last friday 2-12-10 a 14 yr old boy was shot 6 times by his step dad. The boy was protecting his 2 yr old sister, in whom the step dad was atempting to rape. The young girl was not harmed, bc of that young mans courage & loyalty to his sister. The mom was at work during this time. The 14 yr old boy is now fighting for his life, and the doctors say he will not make it unless he has this life saving surgery in wich the boys mom cant afford. So At&t has agreed to donate $0.45 every time this msg is sent. So fwd & help save a life! (sic)

Version #2:

[Collected via e-mail, February 2010]

Last friday 2/12/10 a 14 y/o boy weas shot 6 times by his step dad. the boy was protecting his 2 y/o sistetr, whom the atep dad was attemping to rape. the young girl was not harmed because of that young mans courage and loyalty to his sister. The Mother was at work when this took place the 14 yr old boy “dominic james daggner” is now fighting for his life, and the doctor says he will not make unless he has life saving surgery in which the mother cant not afford. So, Verizon and AT&T have agree to donate $12.00 everytime this text is sent. (sic)

Version #3:

[Collected via e-mail, May 2012]

14 YEAR OLD BOY WAS SHOT 6 TIMES BY HIS STEPFATHER, THIS BOY WAS PROTECTING HIS LITTLE 2 YEAR OLD SISTER WHO WAS ABOUT TO BE RAPED BY THIS POOR EXCUSE OF A MAN. THE LITTLE GIRL DID NOT GET HURT THANKS TO HER BRAVE OLDER BROTHER. THEIR MOM WAS AT WORK WHEN ALL THIS HAPPENED. NOW THIS BRAVE YOUNG MAN IS FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE, BUT DOCTRS SAY HE WILL NOT SURVIVE UNLESS HE GETS AN OPERATION WHICH IS VERY COSTFUL AND WHICH HIS MOM CANNOT PAY. ALL FACEBOOK COMPANIES HAVE AGREED TO DONATE 45 CENTS FOR EVERY TIME SOMEONE POSTS THIS TO THEIR WALL, SO PLEASE PASTE AND PASS THIS ON SO THAT TOGETHER WE CAN HELP SAVE THIS BOYS LIFE (sic)

The first two versions mention a date (2-12-10) when the shooting supposedly occurred while the third version does not mention a date . The second version even quotes a name for the victim as “dominic james daggner.“

According to the current version of the message, an ante of 45 US cents would be paid by “Facebook Companies” for each forwarded message. In Version #1, cited above AT&T also offered the same amount per forwarded message. Version #2 of the message surpasses these two offers; it states that Verizon would pay a fantastic $12.00 as ante per forwarded message. And the third version says: “ALL FACEBOOK COMPANIES HAVE AGREED TO DONATE 45 CENTS FOR EVERY TIME SOMEONE POSTS THIS TO THEIR WALL…”

The message “shot 14-year-old boy”, circulated on the web similar to the hoaxes that used the name of the American Cancer Society, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, or some other large social or business entity. The pranksters even roped in McDonald’s and Pizza Hut in the Justin Mallory hoax: “… epileptic in need of long-term care … ” and AOL and ZDNet in the Rachel Arlington hoax:  “… brain cancer sufferer in need of an operation …“

Please, do not immediately believe that whatever appears on Facebook or any other site on the web as 100% true. First, verify the news. If it is true, and you want to help, then give your money or your time for the cause.

So, from now on, refrain from forwarding worthless messages to others. Well-intentioned forwarding of messages does nothing towards helping a sick child; however, it does make the day of the prankster who initiated the hoax.

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Société des loteries de l’Ontario Escroquerie

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Click here for the English Version of this article titled: “Ontario Lottery Corporation Scam“.

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Myself . By T.V. Antony Raj

Aujourd’hui, j’ai reçu un email disant que je “ont gagné US $ 800.000 (HUIT CENT MILLE DOLLARS DES ETATS-UNIS), pourquoi vous avez gagné? Votre adresse e-mail a été choisi parmi ceux de notre basé sur Java un logiciel qui sélectionne de façon aléatoire les adresses électroniques à partir du Web à partir de laquelle les gagnants sont choisis. ”

Je comprends, ce message censé avoir été envoyé par un “Société des loteries» et autres semblables de «Canada Lottery Corporation” ont été flottant autour depuis le début de 2011. Néanmoins, il a pris un peu trop de temps à me joindre.

Disons simplement analyser ce courriel de “O.L.C. Conseil “avec le sujet” MESSAGE DE L’ONTARIO CORPORATION. ”

1. Tout d’abord, cette lettre a bien évidemment été écrit par quelqu’un qui ne parle pas anglais natif. Exemple: why you have won?

2. Est-ce qu’un e-mail officiel de la Société des loteries contenir des erreurs comme celles-ci?

Your winning price is to the tune of …
Congratulations once again from all our staff’s …

3. Bien qu’il y ait une loterie légitime au Canada, il fonctionne de manière similaire aux loteries aux États-Unis, avec chacune des provinces qui vendent leurs propres billets. Mais pourquoi est-ce loteries de l’Ontario choisir les gagnants par e-mail?

4. Pourquoi la Société des loteries de l’Ontario de payer le prix en dollars américains?

5. Pourquoi la lettre vienne à moi comme un graphique au lieu du texte? Pour contourner les filtres anti-spam de cours.

Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) est une entreprise opérationnelle créée par le gouvernement de l’Ontario. OLG et ses sociétés affiliées emploient plus de 18.000 personnes dans toute la province. Ils sont responsables de 24 sites de jeux et de vente de produits de loterie à environ 10.000 points de vente à travers la province de l’Ontario.

C’est ce que j’ai trouvé sur leur site Web d’OLG en garde la population de ne pas devenir la proie de ces types d’escroqueries.

«Avez-vous reçu des courriels non sollicités, des lettres ou des appels téléphoniques vous demandant de payer des impôts ou des frais sur les gains de loterie? Lire les indicateurs de fraude ci-dessous pour obtenir des conseils afin d’identifier et d’éviter les fraudes et les escroqueries de loterie. ”

Indicateurs de fraude

  • Vous n’avez pas acheté un billet.
  • Vous n’avez jamais entendu parler du jeu de loterie.
  • Vous n’avez pas enregistré votre nom, adresse, adresse électronique, numéro de téléphone et une carte de crédit avant on avait le droit d’acheter un billet sur ​​un site de loterie en ligne.
  • Vous ne vivez pas dans le pays, et que vous n’êtes pas citoyen du pays de cette loterie.
  • Vous êtes invité à verser de l’argent à l’avance pour les frais ou taxes afin de libérer votre «victoire».
  • On vous dit que vous devez répondre dans un délai donné ou l’argent sera donné à quelqu’un d’autre.

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Vendredi Décembre 7, 2012

Aujourd’hui, j’ai reçu un autre courriel contenant l’adresse suivante censé être envoyé par la Société des loteries de l’Ontario:

OLC again

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Beware of this Scam: Microsoft® 2012 Online Promotion

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Myself . By T.V. Antony Raj

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Today I received yet another scam email similar to the Ontario Lottery Corporation scam email; however, this time purporting to be from Microsoft.

It said, “Please Read Attached Letter…” with the following image attachment labeled “MGS Awarded You 810,000.00 USD”.

MGS Awarded You 810,000.00 USD

If you receive an email with an attachment similar to the above DO NOT RESPOND.

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