Hallowe'en Email Hoaxes (and two true viruses) from Scambusters Oct 27/10

Halloween Myths and Hoaxes Mix In with Spooky Email Viruses
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It's time to turn down the lights, draw the drapes and huddle
close as we prepare ourselves for another dose of Halloween
myths and hoaxes.

For this is the time, as everyone knows, when mysterious
events unfold and incidents defy explanation.

Or so we are told.

Probably more than any other day of the year, Halloween
attracts tall tales, urban myths and legends -- ranging from
recounting of omens, through stories of hauntings, to scary
tales of space invasions.

Famous Halloween Hoaxes on Air

Yes, space invaders. Probably the greatest Halloween hoax of
all time was the 1938 radio show which presented a series of
spoof news reports, read by actor Orson Welles and based on
the H.G. Wells novel War of the Worlds, dramatizing a Martian
invasion.

The broadcast caused widespread panic among listeners, some of
whom only tuned in to the show partway through and others who
simply didn't catch on to the hoax -- nor heard Welles's
explanation at the end of the show.

Fourteen years later, another Halloween broadcast, produced by
American Forces' Network in Germany, featured a reporter sent
to investigate a 13th century castle said to be the home of
Dr. Frankenstein.

Unknown to him, the director of the show had planted a
ghoulish dummy in the castle crypt and when the reporter
encountered it, in a live broadcast, he panicked and fainted.

You can still hear the broadcast today at

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In more recent times, debates have become heated about TV
shows purportedly featuring ghost hunters who have been
accused of pulling a hoax.

One famous episode of the series Ghost Hunters, again filmed
on Halloween, in which viewers see an investigator apparently
yanked backwards by a ghost has been the subject of hoax
claims.

Decide for yourself here:

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Halloween Myths About Candy

As we reported in an earlier issue of Scambusters, Halloween
myths abound claiming trick-or-treaters have been given
poisoned candy.

http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=GRf...F8p1v0RmZwslXA

There's no documented evidence of this ever happening (though
a father allegedly once used this as a ruse to murder his
son).

Another version of this Halloween myth reports that groups of
terrorists have been buying up large quantities of candy to
enable them to carry out mass poisonings.

Other scary urban legends about candy claim:

* Pins or razor blades have been inserted into candy and fruit
(not totally discounted but it seems, at least in some cases,
kids may have been doing this themselves to scare their
parents).

* A man or a child eating a lollipop treat choked on it when
the airbag of the car in which he was traveling inflated,
knocking it down his throat.

One story that was true, though many believed it a hoax, was
the recall of some chocolate coins that were found to contain
a potentially harmful chemical, though this came about in the
manufacturing process, not as a result of any malicious act.


Halloween Myths and Real Threats Via Email

Of course, as we might expect, the age of online communication
has brought its own crop of Halloween linked urban myths.

Usually, these circulate via email, and contain some sort of
deadly threat, which you are urged to pass on.

These include:

* The Blue Star tattoo -- a warning that criminals stick a
tiny blue star or other tattoo laced with drugs onto the arms
of trick-or-treaters.

This one, untrue, predates the Internet but is now seen in
emails.

* The trick-or-treat virus -- supposedly a message with an
attachment called "Trickor1" that, when clicked on, invites
the victim to choose "trick-or-treat." Either way, your
selection causes your hard drive to be wiped clean.

Although untrue, there are a couple of email-borne Halloween
viruses out there that really will cause damage.

In one case, victims are invited to download a dancing
skeleton, when they're really installing the "Storm" worm
that, fittingly some might say, turns your PC into a botnet
"zombie."

(For an explanation of botnets and zombie PCs check out this
earlier Scambusters report.)

http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=GRf...aq8Y_ltIAG.slg

In another case, an email with a subject heading of something
like "Happy Allhallowmas" contains a dangerous virus
(nicknamed "Klez"), which really can wreak havoc on your PC,
as well as mailing itself to everyone in your address book.

As we always stress, whether hoax or genuine, the best way to
avoid the risk of a virus infection is to be cautious about
clicking links inside emails or allowing any website you're
not 100% sure of to install programs on your PC. It's just too
risky.


More Halloween Myths and Hoaxes

Other common Halloween myths and hoaxes you may encounter this
year include:

* Reports of brooms that stand upright on their bristles; this
is an easy trick that merely relies on the skill of being able
to balance the broom on the broad base created by its
bristles.

* Gangs use this night for all sorts of blood-curdling
initiation ceremonies. No evidence for this.

* Some types of face-paint are poisonous. Again, no evidence,
though some Halloween costumes have been recalled in the past
because they may have harmful chemicals in them.

* A psychic on a TV show (usually a big show like Oprah) has
predicted a mass murder at a college. This has been around for
years but still crops up regularly each Halloween.

* Visitors to a haunted house have been offered their money
back if they can complete the tour, but no one ever has, and
some have disappeared. The house has been supposedly located
in many parts of the country -- but the story always comes
from a friend of a friend.

Feeling suitably spooked? We hope so (not). As for us, we'll
be curling up October 31st with Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew
for our annual reading of Carolyn Keen's classic The Halloween
Hoax. Just can't get enough of those Halloween myths!

That's all we have for today, but we'll be back next week with
another issue. See you then!

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