Don’t fall for this!

“Hello, my name is Bruce Delburg. I am 2 months old I have lung cancer. My family can not afford 2 pay4 my excessive medical bills for my treatments an surgerys. The good thing is that ALL the PHONE COMPANYS have agreed to give 10 cents for every time some one send’s this text, if you have a heart you’ll send this but if u dont, I will be praying for U. A BIG THANK U to every one that sends this…Linda”

Have you received a text message on your phone like this one? According to the Snope’s Urban Legend site, it’s a hoax that’s been circulating since October of 2008. The first variant stated that Verizon would donate a dollar every time the message was forwarded 7 times. I received the above variation this weekend.

This message (and many like it) are simply designed to see how far they will travel. (Although it wouldn’t surprise me if cell phone companies sent these viral messages out themselves just to boost text-messaging revenue.)

Notice the tactics used in this well-crafted message:

1. First, they use emotional shock, and pity. “I am 2 months old and I have lung cancer.”
(Unlikely. Lung cancer just doesn’t affect too many infants. But it grabbed your attention, didn’t it?)

2. A problem is presented - “My family cannot afford the bills”

3. A solution immediately presents itself - “Phone companies have agreed to pay a bunch of money if you forward this.”
(This is an old tactic, used to make the message viral. It makes no sense, if you think about it. Companies are not going to agree to pay an amount of money that is completely beyond their control! A company might certainly make a donation to the family, or a hospital, but they would never agree to an out-of-control scheme like this. And if “ALL the PHONE COMPANYS” had agreed to something like this, you would certainly have heard about it in the news.)

Viral messages always ask you to forward them. It’s what MAKES them viral. If you get a message that asks you to forward it, it is 99.9% likely to be a hoax.

Why is it bad to forward these? Because a lot of people have plans on their cell phones that make them pay for incoming texts. You are wasting your friend’s money on hoaxes.

4. Then they dump the guilt on you - “If you have a heart you will send this, if you don’t, I will pray for you…”

They fit a lot into just a few hundred characters, don’t they? I have received “amber alerts” that asked to be forwarded, and turned out to be hoaxes. I have received a warning about terrorists planning to attack a local walmart that asked to be forwarded, and turned out to be a hoax.

GETTING YOU TO FORWARD IT is the REAL point of these messages. All of the emotional dressing in the message is simply put there to get you to forward it.

THINK before you forward!