free ipod? c'mon, do I have to tell you it's a hoax?

Today I received an email telling me that I could receive a free ipod for just sending that same email on to 15 people. I'm never tempted intoparticipating in such hoaxes, but it surprises me how many people, even intelligent people, even close friends are. Incredible!

In general spam makes me angry. But what if that spam comes from friends and relatives? I try to warn them over and over again but it doesn't help. Basic instincts like sex drive, fear of viruses and getting something free are so strong that people can really believe it's all true. No matter what the promiss is, they fall for it and spread the most absurd rumours.

What's worse is that some sneaky websites use these same basic instincts to get your personal information. Search "free ipod" on Google and you find zillions of websites all giving this popular toy away for free. Do you believe it? If 1% of it would have been true all your friends were already showing off their gift. And wondering how you could be so stupid not to order yours.

But these websites come with a form that you have to fill in. They want information from you. And the only thing you'll ever really get in return is not an ipod. It's spam. Some of that spam comes from people who say that they have inherited a lot of money, they just need a little help from you to collect it. They offer you a large reward. Last week Dutch newspapers reported that just in this tiny country these crooks have been able to swindle people out out several millions of Euro's.

And this morning the TV news reported that a gang had been able to create false master cards using data they collected through webforms. The victims gave the information out of their own free will so I doubt if MasterCard is going to compensate them for their loss.