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Hoaxes Internet People

Thursday Night Internet Hoax Hall-Of-Shame

It is generally not a good idea to forward Amber Alerts that you receive via your E-Mail Inbox on to friends and family. Here are a few key reasons why:

  • About 98% of them are Internet hoaxes. They are not real. They were never real.
  • About 98% of these Internet hoaxes are forwarded to you by friends, family, and other reliable sources (with good intentions no doubt).
  • Even your friends and family – no matter how smart or computer savvy they are, and no matter what their occupation is – can be duped by an Internet hoax.
  • Legitimate Amber alerts that are 1, 2, or 3 years old or more are often forwarded to you for once missing people that are no longer missing. Even long after they have been found and reunited with their families (or worse) the E-Mails continue on endlessly in cyberspace.
  • Legitimate Amber alerts usually omit important details and other information such as names, locations, time-lines, and contact information.
  • Legitimate Amber alerts usually contain false and misleading information; thus, making them no longer legitimate.

It is best to leave any forwarded Amber alerts sent to you via E-Mail alone, and let the appropriate local and national law enforcement agencies with all of the real facts and vital information to do their job. Don’t try to be a good citizen or a detective and try to find missing persons in this world via the press of the ‘SEND’ button. You are hindering the operations of the professionals that do this type of work full-time.

Chris M. Day's avatar

By Chris M. Day

I'm 58 years old. I've been online for 32 years - starting with my own dial-up bulletin board system in 1993 - and continuing with AOL, my own dot.com web site, Myspace, WordPress, Twitter / X, Flickr, and Facebook.