Hoax Encyclopedia

Following is an example of an Advance Fee Fraud scam that began circulating in mid-February 2009. The email starts off by claiming to be from the FBI, followed by a somewhat incoherent rambling about racism in America. The scam then claims the recipient must pay $250 in fees in order to have an ATM card released to them.

The Life Owner / Mail Server Report hoax is yet another bogus email warning that gets fueled by confusingly worded references.

The Postcard from Hallmark virus hoax is a knock-off on the old "A Virtual Card for You" hoax. The postcard from hallmark hoax includes a link to a Snopes article which is worded in such a way that it appears the hoax warning is legitimate. It isn't.

BlueMountain Greeting Card Hoax

The Choke worm is a very real worm, but the message telling users to delete zip files to get rid of it is a hoax.

Hard drive killer virus hoax, aka buddy list virus hoax

The Invitation virus hoax is a knock-off on the old "A Virtual Card for You" hoax.

aka the Pluperfect virus

How a nearly non-existent Trojan email morphed into a hoax.

From your Antivirus.About.com guide, an encyclopedia of hoax descriptions and links to other useful information about hoaxes.

A long running hoax, involving the addition of !0000 to the email address book.

This hoax warns of a fictitious new virus allegedly arriving in 48 hours and warns that "it is a cyber-terrorism".

This email hoax warns of Federal Bill 602P which the author claims will impose a 5-cent email tax on every delivered email.

Urban Legends guide David Emery explains the facts - and some fiction - behind this scam.

90# telephone hoax

A variant of the !0000 tip, this one offers a twist that could lead to an even greater risk of infection.

From Charles Hymes, valuable advice on detecting hoaxes and what not to do.

Bill Gates Email Tracking hoax

Just to make it seem more believable, many hoaxes combine legitimate virus information with completely bogus details.

Netlore archive of email purporting rapist impersonating a police officer.

Some hoaxes erroneously state that the FCC is responsible for the warning. Read the official disclaimer from the FCC.

It Takes Guts to Say Jesus hoax

File with teddy bear icon wrongly accused of being a virus.

John Ives is a self-described contemplator of all things geek. In this rather esoteric commentary, John takes a look at why virus hoaxes and urban legends abound in the online community.

Life is beautiful.pps hoax

Lotus Notes hoax

Is Bill Gates really promising big bucks as part of an email beta test?

MSN Hacker List hoax

MSN Hotmail hoax

David Emery, the About.com Guide to Urban Legends, provides information on myths and urban legends that circulate via the 'Net.

Nigerian 419 scheme

Nokia Is Giving Away Phones For "FREE" - Not!

penny brown missing children hoax

SULFNBK.EXE is a utility shipped as part of the Windows 98 operating system that allows users to restore long file names - and is now the victim of a bogus virus warning.

Returned/Unable to Deliver hoax

From F-Secure, an alphabetical and searchable database of purely virus hoax warnings.

Just like viruses, hoaxes cost companies both time and money.

From your About.com Guide to Antivirus, an article focusing on how a hoax can cause damage - and even expense - to your enterprise.

If you know what to look for, you can spot a hoax the minute it hits your inbox.

About the worst excuse possible for forwarding an email hoax, but also the most prevalent.

If you're tasked with virus prevention, what are the worst things a user can say to you?

Formerly Kumite.com, Rob Rosenberger provides a comprehensive alphabetical index of common hoaxes.

BIGGGG TROUBLE !!!! Not! This hoax predictably started just after the World Trade Center disaster.

The Black in the White House virus hoax is a variation of A Virtual Card for You hoax and the Invitation Virus hoax.