DUST ON THE BIBLE

Urban Legends Reference Pages:
Update #359
Hello again from snopes.com, where we shed light on the wild tales you've heard! This e-mail gives information about new articles recently added to the Urban Legends Reference Pages and provides pointers to older pieces about rumors and hoaxes still wandering into everyone's inboxes. Our last update mailing was April 12, 2008.

If after this update you are left wondering about something newly arrived in your inbox, our search engine stands ready to assist you. Bookmark that URL �?it's a keeper!

An RSS feed for our What's New page is available at the following URL:
http://www.snopes.com/info/whatsnew.xml

And now to the legends, the mayhem, and the misinformation!

New Articles

Photographs shows a "Devil's Swimming Pool" on the edge of Victoria Falls.

E-mail warns about adverse symptoms in pets after application of ProMeris brand flea and tick treatment.

E-mail purportedly reproduces Barack Obama's statement about the U.S. national anthem.

Petition targets a Costa Rican artist who allegedly starved a dog to death as part of a gallery exhibit.

Phishing bait appears to be a subpoena from a United States District Court.

Can an egg be cooked by placing it between two activated cell phones?

Was the pastor of the church attended by Senator Hillary Clinton convicted of child molestation?

Don't forget to visit our Daily Snopes page for a collection of odd news stories from around the world!

Worth a Second Look

Did Steven Spielberg get his start in the film industry by sneaking into Universal Studios and commandeering an unoccupied office?

Still Haunting the Inbox

Political rumors continue to swell around the two leading Democratic presidential contenders, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Computer virus warnings: Mail Server Report, Life Is Beautiful, Invitation (or Olympic Torch), and Postcard (or Greeting Card).

E-mail warns that cell phone numbers are being sold to telemarketers.

E-mail describes woman who evades a rapist posing as a policeman by calling #77 (or *677) on her cell phone.

About "huffing" and the death of a teen from misusing a can of compressed air.

Is it safe to re-use plastic water bottles?

Various rumors about the U.S. Social Security system.

Aspartame: Responsible for an epidemic of cancer, brain tumors, and multiple sclerosis, or not?

Warnings about scammers' running up long-distance charges by asking victims to press #-9-0 on their telephones or luring phone users into returning calls to numbers within the 809 area code.

E-mail claims Rep. Nancy Pelosi has proposed a windfall profits tax on retirement income.

E-mailed photographs document the effects of a brown recluse spider bite.

E-mail claims Bill Gates, Microsoft and AOL are giving away cash and merchandise to those who forward an e-mail message.

PowerPoint presentation describes the affection between a shark and her rescuer.

E-mail claims the design of new U.S. dollar coins omits the motto "In God We Trust."

E-mail warns of parking lot thieves who render their victims unconscious with ether-laced perfume.

E-mailed warning claims Glade PlugIns brand air fresheners are a major fire hazard.

About Oprah Winfrey's sponsoring a "New Age Christ" course that contradicts the teachings of Christianity.

E-mails urge Americans to buy/not buy gasoline from Citgo or Petro Express stations.

"Slow Dance" poem attributed to Amy Bruce, a terminally ill young girl.

E-mail claims access to Michelle Obama's senior thesis has been restricted until after the election.

E-mail reproduces excerpt from Lee Iacocca's book, Where Have All the Leaders Gone?

Fraud Afoot

Seems like everyone has become the recipient of mysterious e-mails promising untold wealth if only one helps a wealthy foreigner quietly move millions of dollars out of his country. The venerable Nigerian Scam has discovered the goldmine that is the Internet. Beware �?there's still no such thing as "something for nothing," and the contents of your bank account will end up with these wily foreigners if you fall in with this.

Likewise, look out for mailings announcing you've won a foreign lottery you don't recall entering or claiming that because you share the surname of a wealthy person who died without leaving a will you're in line for a windfall inheritance.

And be especially wary if, while trying to sell or rent anything online (car, boat, horse, motorcycle, painting, apartment, you name it) you're approached by a prospective buyer/renter who wants to pay with a cashier check made out for an amount in excess of the agreed-upon price and who asks the balance be sent to a third party.

Aspiring work-at-homers promised big bucks for acting as intermediaries for international transactions wherein they cash checks for other parties or reship goods to them have been defrauded by con artists. Don't you be next.

If someone calls to announce you've failed to appear for jury duty and will be arrested, do not give the caller your personal and financial information in an effort to prove he's sending the gendarmes after the wrong guy. You're being tricked into giving up this information to an identity thief.

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