Hoax-Slayer Issue 52 June 2005

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Issue 52: June, 2005

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This month in Hoax-Slayer:

[1] *Dust-Off Warning Email*

[2] *Premium Rate Phone Fraud Police Warning Hoax*

[3] *Mars, Earth - Closest Approach in Recorded History*

[4] *Email Security Tip - Forward Responsibly*

[5] *Dr John Holt Email Petition - Microwave Cancer Therapy Email*

[6] *Michael Jackson Suicide Message Points to Trojan*

[7] *Reporting Phishing Scams*

[8] *Anti-Spam Tip: Fake Subscription Trick*

[9] *Neiman Marcus Cookie Hoax - $250 Cookie Recipe*

[10] *Recommend Hoax-Slayer and get Free eBooks*

[11] *Hoax-Slayer News and Service Blog*

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[1] *Dust-Off Warning Email*

Sadly, the information outlined in the email forward below is
true. On the 2nd March 2005, 14-year-old Kyle Williams of
Painesville Township, Ohio died after inhaling Dust-Off. As
outlined in the email, Dust-Off is a product that contains
compressed air used for removing the dust from computers.
Kyle's father, Jeff is indeed a police officer in Cleveland,
Ohio.

Because Dust-Off and similar products contain a seemingly
harmless product - compressed air - parents and children may
not realize how dangerous inhaling them can be.

The company that manufactures Dust-Off has the following
information on its website:

"As a leading manufacturer of one of the world's most
versatile aerosol products, Falcon recognizes that among
the issues surrounding aerosol product distribution and
usage is that of inhalant abuse or "huffing". It is
imperative that consumers of aerosol products, parents
and children all understand the seriousness of this
practice."

Dust-Off cans also carry the following warning:

"A cleaning duster is a serious product. Inhalant abuse is
illegal and can cause permanent injury or be fatal.
Please use our product responsibly."

Inhalant abuse, or "huffing", is a serious problem that has
killed and maimed many children and young adults around the
world. It is important that parents and guardians educate
themselves and their children about inhalant abuse. The National
Inhalant Prevention Coalition (NIPC) website is an excellent
resource on the subject.

As a parent, my heart goes out to Kyle's grieving family.
Perhaps we can help to prevent similar tragedies by taking steps
to let others know about the dangers of inhalant abuse.

References:
NIPC Website:
http://www.inhalants.com/index.htm
<a href="http://www.inhalants.com/index.htm">AOL CLICK</a>

Falcon Website: Issues Surrounding Inhalant Abuse and Huffing:
http://www.falconsafety.com/default.aspx?pageid=46
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/ctfaz">AOL CLICK</a>

Falcon Website: What Are The Health Hazards Associated With Abuse?
http://www.falconsafety.com/default.aspx?pageid=48
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/bbd98">AOL CLICK</a>

The Plain Dealer: A dire warning from a grieving dad
http://tinyurl.com/9xqnq
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/9xqnq">AOL CLICK</a>

The News-Herald: Riverside High School continues to grieve
http://tinyurl.com/abjyb
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/abjyb">AOL CLICK</a>

*** Begin Partial Copy***

Subject: FW: : Dust Off - A deadly drug

Dust Off- A Serious Fatal Hazard

First IM going to tell you a little about me and my family.
My name is Jeff. I am a Police Officer for a city which is
known nationwide for its crime rate. We have a lot of gangs
and drugs. At one point we were # 2 in the nation in homicides
per capita. I also have a police K-9 named Thor . He was
certified in drugs and general duty. He retired at 3 years old
because he was shot in the line of duty. He lives with us now
and I still train with him because he likes it. I always liked
the fact that there was no way to bring drugs into my house.
Thor wouldn't allow it. He would tell on you. The reason I say
this is so you understand that I know about drugs. I have
taught in schools about drugs. My wife asks all our kids at
least once a week if they used any drugs. Makes them promise
they won't. (......)

**** End Copy ****

NOTE:
Due to the length of the email forward discussed, I have only
included part of the message here. To read the full text, please
access the online version of the newsletter:
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/current-issue.html
<a href="http://www.hoax-slayer.com/current-issue.html">CLICK</a>

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[2] *Premium Rate Phone Fraud Police Warning Hoax*

Variations of the hoax email replicated below have been
circulating since at least 2004. The email claims that victims
are being duped into participating in premium rate phone calls
that are charged at £20 per minute. It also claims that a mobile
phone scam results in victims being charged £50 per minute.

The latest version pretends to be a "Warning from the Police"
and includes a date for May 2005. It also claims that the police
have verified the message as genuine.

In spite of these efforts by the hoaxsters to add credibility to
the message, the claims in the email are untrue. The message does
not originate from the police. The ICSTIS has debunked these
claims on its website (URL below). Information on the ICSTIS
website states that:

"£20.00 per minute and £50.00 per minute premium rate tariffs
do not exist - the highest premium rate tariff available is
£1.50 per minute. Despite the dozens of enquiries received by
ICSTIS about these 'scams' (and most people appear to have
heard about them second or third-hand), not one person who
claims that it has actually happened to them has been able
to produce a phone bill to support their story.
ICSTIS urges any individual or organisation that receives an
e-mail about these 'scams' to delete it immediately. Please
do NOT forward it to others."

The false information in the email about mobile phone "scams"
has also circulated as a separate message. In the version above,
the two "scams" have been combined.

These messages contain false information and should not be
forwarded.

ICSTIS Information:
http://www.icstis.org.uk/icstis2002/default.asp?node=-1
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/2qsr9">AOL CLICK</a>

**** Begin Hoax Example ***

Phone Fraud - Warning from the Police 11.5.05

We have been advised of a telephone fraud currently in operation -
this applies to home and work telephones, landlines and mobiles.

If you receive one of these calls, upon answering the telephone you
will hear a recorded message congratulating you on winning an all
expenses trip to an exotic location. You will then be asked to press
9 to hear further details. If you press 9 you will be connected to a
premium rate line that costs approximately £20 per minute.

Even if you disconnect immediately, it will remain connected for a
minimum of 5 minutes costing around £ 100. The final part of the call
involves you being asked to key in your postcode and house number,
which has other serious consequences. After a further 2 minutes you
will receive a message informing you that you are not one of the
lucky winners.

The total bill by then will be £100.

Since the calls are originating from outside the UK, BT and other
telephone companies are left relatively powerless to act. The only
safe solution is to HANG UP before the message prompts you to dial 9,
even safer HANG UP on any unsolicited 'free offer calls'.

There is another scam operating on mobile phones as well. A missed
call comes up. The number is 0709 020 3840, the last four numbers
may vary, but certainly the first four will remain the same. If
you call this number back you will be charged £50 per minute.

People have complained about their phone bills, once they have
realised the cost of the call, but apparently this is completely
legal.

So beware, do not call back numbers beginning with '0709'.

The above was passed to me by a member of staff. On checking with
Police it is genuine

**** End Hoax Example ****

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[3] *Mars, Earth - Closest Approach in Recorded History*

Someone has recently resurrected and sent off the message below
and it is once again being passed from inbox to inbox. Although
the year is not specifically mentioned in the message, recipients
may naturally assume that it is referring to the current year,
2005. The events outlined in the message were more or less true
back in 2003 although they were a little hyped even then.
According to NASA, on August 27, 2003, Earth and Mars were the
closest they have been for around 60,000 years. Mars was indeed
a spectacular site in the night sky during several months of
2003.

However, this fact is not quite as earth shattering as you might
think. A 2003 NASA article (URL below) on the subject explains that:

"Much has been made of the fact that the August 27th encounter
with Mars is the closest in some 60,000 years. Neanderthals
were the last to observe Mars so favorably placed. This is
true. It's also a bit of hype. Mars and Earth have been almost
this close many times in recent history."

Mars will in fact pass close to Earth once again in 2005, although
it will be at its closest on October 31st rather than August 27th.
However, the red planet will not pass quite as close as it did in
2003. In 2003, Mars came within approximately 34 million miles of
Earth. In late 2005 it will pass at about 43 million miles.

In reality, this distance gap will probably not make a great deal
of difference to casual observers on the ground. Mars will still
be a spectacular and compelling site in the night sky in late 2005
in spite of the fact that it will not be quite as close to Earth
as it was in 2003. What's more, these close encounters are not
such uncommon events.

Thus the claim that "NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN!"
is a little misleading. It is true that the next time Mars will be
as close to earth as it was in 2003 will be on August 28, 2287. In
the mean time however, there will be plenty of other close
approaches, so our children and our children's children are not
likely to miss out altogether.

Perhaps by 2287 some of our descendents will be observing the close
encounter from the Martian perspective

References -
Nasa- Approaching Mars:
http://tinyurl.com/eu11
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/eu11">AOL CLICK</a>

Hubble Makes Best Mars Globe Photos Ever:
http://tinyurl.com/lfob
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/lfob">AOL CLICK</a>

A Breathtaking Close Encounter With Mars:
http://tinyurl.com/asy9k
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/asy9k">AOL CLICK</a>

Mars Opposition:
http://tinyurl.com/jkkc
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/jkkc">AOL CLICK</a>

**** Begin Hoax Example ***

The Red Planet is about to be spectacular! This month and
next, Earth is catching up with Mars in an encounter that
will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets
in recorded history. The next time Mars may come this close is
in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars and
perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars
has not come this close to Earth in the last 5,000 years, but
it may be as long as 60,000 years before it happens again.

The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to
within 34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon)
the brightest object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude
of -2.9 and will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest
75-power magnification Mars will look as large as the full moon
to the naked eye. Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of
August it will rise in the east at 10p.m. and reach its azimuth
at about 3 a.m. By the end of August when the two planets are
closest, Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point
in the sky at 12:30a.m. That's pretty convenient to see something
that no human being has seen in recorded history. So, mark your
calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars grow progressively
brighter and brighter throughout the month.

Share this with your children and grandchildren.

NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN!

**** End Hoax Example ***

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[4] *Email Security Tip - Forward Responsibly*

Along with the junk mail that arrives in our inboxes, there may
be quite a few gems that just beg to be forwarded. These may be
jokes, funny photos or videos, useful information, interesting
web links or just juicy bits of gossip. The "forward" function
of our email program enables us to fire off these missives to
one, a few, or all of the email addresses in our address book
with just a few mouse clicks. As easy as pie!

In fact, email forwarding is almost too easy! While the ability
to forward messages is a very valuable aid to effective email
communication, the forward function should be used responsibly.
Before you forward an email to multiple recipients, there are
important factors that need to be considered:

* Willingness to receive:

There is a fundamental question that is very frequently
overlooked by the forwarding fraternity. The question is,
"Does the recipient actually *want* to be sent all these
forwarded emails?"

If you are on a slow dial-up Internet connection, it can be very
irritating to continually receive large emails that take a
considerable time to download. Furthermore, your recipient's
opinions about what is funny, intriguing, or important might
diverge rather sharply from your own.

More importantly, the recipient might be rightly concerned
about the privacy and security risks inherent in multiple
forwarded emails (see below).

In short, if you forward a lot of emails to a lot of people, it
is simply good etiquette to give your recipients the chance to
"opt out" of future mailings. In other words, take the time to
ask the recipient if he or she wants to receive your forwarded
emails. The truth is that some of your recipients may prefer
that you did not forward emails to them, but are too polite to
tell you.

* Privacy and Security:

If you forward an email to multiple recipients in the normal
way, recipients will be able to easily view each other's email
addresses. The email is likely to be forwarded many more times
and it will carry an expanding list of email addresses along with
it, including those of your friends and family. Some of your
recipients may not appreciate the fact that their private email
address has been clearly revealed to dozens or hundreds of total
strangers.

Ultimately, this list of email addresses may well find its way
into the hands of spammers who will send you and other people on
the list irritating and intrusive junk email.

I go to a lot of trouble to protect my private email address from
spammers, so I do tend to get irritated when I am forwarded an
email and realize that my email address has been blasted across
cyberspace to dozens of strangers without my permission and its
continued transmission is totally beyond my control.

Luckily, there are a couple of very easy steps you can take to
protect the privacy of your recipients and help to reduce spam.
Firstly, be sure to remove any previous email addresses displayed
in a message before you forward it. Secondly, be sure to use the
Blind Carbon Copy (BCC) function of your email program when
forwarding a message to multiple recipients.

* Protecting your own email address:

Even if you do remove previous email addresses and use BCC, you
need to be aware that your private email address might well end
up being sent onward and displayed in email inboxes across the
planet. Once you click the "Send" button, you have very little
control over where or to whom your email address is subsequently
displayed. However, you can reduce the risk by asking your
recipients to remove your email address before forwarding. You
could also use a throwaway email account just for forwarding
purposes.

Many users are simply not aware of the privacy and security
issues connected to forwarding emails. You can take an active
role in helping to protect user privacy and reducing spam by
making others aware of these issues

For more information about using BCC, removing previous
addresses and other email security issues, see -
Email Security - Safe and Secure Emailing:
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/email-security.html
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/9dmog">AOL CLICK</a>

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[5] *Dr John Holt Email Petition - Microwave Cancer Therapy Email*

The case described in the email below is a real one. There has
been a lot of controversy over many years regarding Perth
(Australia) based Dr John Holt's microwave therapy treatment for
cancer sufferers. Many of his patients and advocates maintain that
his treatment is effective and has saved a number of lives. Others
in the medical and scientific community denounce the treatment.

The "A Current Affair" report mentioned in the email was shown in
August 2004. As the program and other sources maintain, it appears
that Dr Holt's cancer treatments deserve, at the very least, an
unbiased and comprehensive examination. Thankfully, it appears
that such a study is at last being conducted.

According to an article on the National Health and Medical Research
Council (NHMRC) website, an interim report on the case has now been
provided to the Australian Federal Minister for Health and Ageing,
the Hon Tony Abbott MP and a more thorough audit is currently
being conducted.

The article states that:

Following a meeting and ongoing consultations with Dr Holt, the
Review Committee has commenced a comprehensive audit of the
medical records of a number of Dr Holt's past and present
patients. The patient audit will include a comparison of the
effectiveness of Dr Holt's current and previous microwave
(UHF radiowave) cancer therapies with conventional cancer
therapies.

Above Quote From:
http://www7.health.gov.au/nhmrc/advice/microw.htm
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/7kwn2">AOL CLICK</a>

The final report is expected to be provided to the minister in mid
2005. In view of this fact, this email petition is now becoming
somewhat outdated. The preparation of this report has been almost
unforgivably slow and the email's call to pressure the Australian
Government on the issue can certainly be justified. However, an
email petition is probably not a good method of exerting this
pressure. In my opinion, email petitions of this nature are almost
totally ineffective. There are much more productive ways to help a
cause you believe in than "signing" an email petition. For more
about the intrinsic worth of email petitions see:

Are Email Petitions Useful?
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/petition-value.html
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/9vj8h">AOL CLICK</a>

Dr Holt's treatments are controversial and they have polarized
the Australian medical community. The online version of this
story includes a list of links that should provide more in-depth
information about Dr Holt and his treatment for those who wish to
explore this issue more thoroughly:
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/current-issue.html
<a href="http://www.hoax-slayer.com/current-issue.html">CLICK</a>

**** Begin Copy ***

Subject: Dr John Holt

Recently "A Current Affair" aired a story on Perth based surgeon
Dr. John Holt, whom many believe has a cure for some forms of
cancers.

The National Health & Medical Research Council committed to conduct
a review of Dr Holt's method of cancer treatment, Microwave Cancer
Therapy. The original date for the review was to be provided to the
Minister for Health by 21st December 2004, this deadline passed and
then another was set and another passed and so on.

The result of these delays is that Dr Holt, who is 80 years of age
and who has cured thousands of people of many forms of cancer will
be closing his practice on 30th June 2005. This will be a real
tragedy especially to all of his patients and potential patients
when conventional medicine tells them there is nothing that can be
done.

Please help ordinary Australians who finally have a chance to beat
cancer to keep this treatment here.

We the undersigned demand that the Australian Government, and
Department of Health and Ageing, act swiftly and responsibly to
ensure that, this treatment and its founder be acknowledged and
accepted as a real form of cancer treatment.

INSTRUCTIONS - Please number and place your name at the end of this
list. Then forward this email to all of your contacts who believe in
the right to life. Remember that to enable you to add your name to
the list, you must first click on the 'forward' prompt at the top
of your screen.

If you are the 50th person on this list, please forward this email to
The Minister of Health & Ageing,
Tony Abbott :
Tony.AbbottMP@aph.gov.au
tony.abbott@dewr.gov.au
health.advisory.cttee.nhmrc@nhmrc.gov.au

and then clear the list of names back to number 1, place your name
there and forward to all of your contacts.

Thankyou for your assistance in attempting to save Doctor Holt and
the lives of thousands of cancer sufferers.

[LIST OF NAMES REMOVED]

**** End Copy ****

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[6] Michael Jackson Suicide Message Points to Trojan

An email claiming to contain breaking news about singer Michael
Jackson has been hitting inboxes. The email claims that
Jackson has attempted suicide and urgers the recipient to click
on a link to read more information.

However, clicking the link leads the recipient to a website that
attempts to download and install a malicious trojan on the user's
computer. According to Sophos, the malicious website displays a
message that the site is too busy. However, this is just another
trick. While users are waiting to access the "busy" site, malware
is being downloaded to their computer without their knowledge.
The malware is a variant of the Borobt-Gen trojan.

Jackson's high profile and the current media frenzy surrounding
the singer's trial mean that many curious recipients will be
lured into clicking the link included in the email.

If you recieve this email DO NOT CLICK ON THE INCLUDED LINK.

To see an example of the trojan bearing email, click the link
below to access the online version of the newsletter:
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/current-issue.html
<a href="http://www.hoax-slayer.com/current-issue.html">CLICK</a>

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[7] *Reporting Phishing Scams*

Readers often ask me to let them know how they can report
phishing scams they have received. Your submissions help to
increase awareness of phishing scams and allow anti-phishing
websites and targeted institutions to maintain up-to-date
information about current phishing threats.

If you have received a phishing scam, you can report it to The
Anti-Phishing Working Group via the link below:
http://www.antiphishing.org/report_phishing.html
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/7dc9b">AOL CLICK</a>

You may also be able to report phishing scams to the targeted
institution. Contact the targeted institution to find out where to
submit copies of the scam messages. This information is often
included on the institution's website.

Complaints about Internet scams can also be lodged via the
Internet Fraud Complaint Center which is co-sponsored by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White
Collar Crime Center (NW3C):
http://www.ifccfbi.gov/cf1.asp
<a href="http://www.ifccfbi.gov/cf1.asp">AOL CLICK</a>

As well, you may submit examples for use on the Hoax-Slayer
website. You can forward examples of phishing scams to the
following email address. Examples submitted to Hoax-Slayer may
be used on the website to help keep Internet users aware of these
sorts of scams. Please note that I cannot reply to these
examples:
examples@hoax-slayer.com

I have recently updated the phishing scam information on the
Hoax-Slayer site. I have now included quite comprehensive
information about how phishing scams work, common characteristics
of phishing scams and what to do if you receive such a scam.
You can view the updated information via the link below:
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/phisher-scams.html
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/7yv2b">AOL CLICK</a>

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[8] *Anti-Spam Tip: Fake Subscription Trick*

Spammers often try to imply that you have actually *subscribed* to
their trashy adds. That is, they try to make recipients believe
that they have signed up for their "newsletter" and therefore
explicitly given permission for them to email you. Some recipients
may actually be tricked into thinking that they have subscribed to
the mailings and then subsequently forgotten about it. In fact, no
such subscription based newsletter exists.

If you click the "unsubscribe" link in these spam emails, you may
receive even more spam. Anybody who tries to "unsubscribe" in this
way is just letting the spammer know that his or her email address
is valid. The spammer can then confidently send you even more spam,
with the happy knowledge that your account is active and that you
actually read your email. If someone is unscrupulous enough to send
you unsolicited advertising material in the first place, it is
quite unlikely that he/she/it will honour a request to *stop*
sending it.

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[9] *Neiman Marcus Cookie Hoax - $250 Cookie Recipe*

This email forward declares itself to be a "great story". While it
may well be a great story - a tale of an ordinary person striking
a decisive blow against a large and greedy business entity is
bound to be a popular one - it is a story of the fictitious
variety. There is simply no truth at all in this tale. Neiman
Marcus does not sell its cookie recipe for $250 or even $2.50.
Neiman Marcus has rather elegantly debunked this hoax by openly
publishing the recipe on its website (URL below), along with the
following disclaimer:

An urban myth is a modern folk tale, its origins unknown, its
believability enhanced simply by the frequency with which it is
repeated. Our signature chocolate chip cookie is the subject of
one such myth. If you haven't heard the story, we won't
perpetuate it here. If you have, the recipe below should serve
to refute it. Copy it, print it out, pass it along to friends
and family. It's a terrific recipe. And it's absolutely free.

Very similar tales have been around for many a long year. During
the 1920's there was a popular urban legend involving the unintended
purchase of an exorbitantly priced Red Velvet Cake recipe from New
York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Another equally untrue version of the
story targeted the Mrs Fields company during the 1980's. This version
involved a chocolate-chip cookie recipe and was remarkably similar
to the Neiman Marcus story, even down to the $250 price tag.

In fact, the Neiman Marcus cookie hoax is just the latest reworking
of these older stories. The actual recipe included with the email
tends to vary somewhat. Other details and circumstances outlined
in the email may also vary. Whatever the details, this email
should not be forwarded. By all means try the recipe. If the
resulting cookies are good, you might even want to share it with
your friends. But, if you do share the recipe, be sure to leave
out the nonsense about Neiman Marcus charging $250 for it.

Neiman Marcus Website:
http://tinyurl.com/b2vv9
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/b2vv9">AOL CLICK</a>

Red Velvet Cake:
http://tinyurl.com/dh6sk
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/dh6sk">AOL CLICK</a>

Mrs Fields:
http://tinyurl.com/2nqpv
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/2nqpv">AOL CLICK</a>

**** Begin Hoax Copy ****

Subject: FW: COOKIE RECIPE!

A GREAT STORY...And a delicious recipe!!!!!

THIS IS A TRUE STORY!
My daughter and I had just finished a salad at a Neiman-Marcus
Cafe in Dallas, and we decided to have a small dessert. Because
both of us are such cookie lovers, we decided to try the
"Neiman-Marcus cookie." It was so excellent that I asked if they
would give me the recipe, and the waitress said with a small
frown, "I'm afraid not, but you can buy the recipe."

Well, I asked how much, and she responded, "Only two fifty-it's
a great deal!" I agreed to that, and told her to just add it to
my tab.

Thirty days later, I received my VISA statement, and the Neiman-
Marcus charge was $285.00! I looked again, and I remembered I had
only spent $9.95 for two salads and about $20.00 for a scarf. As
I glanced at the bottom of the statement, it said,
"Cookie Recipe-$250.00". That was outrageous!

I called Neiman's Accounting Department and told them the waitress
said it was "two fifty", which clearly does not mean "two hundred
and fifty dollars" by any reasonable interpretation of the phrase.
Neiman-Marcus refused to budge. They would not refund my money
because, according to them, "What the waitress told you is not our
problem. You have already seen the recipe. We absolutely will not
refund your money at this point."

I explained to the Accounting Department lady the criminal statutes
which govern fraud in the state of Texas. I threatened to report
them to the Better Business Bureau and the Texas Attorney General's
office for engaging in fraud. I was basically told, "Do what you
want. Don't bother thinking of how you can get even, and don't
bother trying to get any of your money back."

I just said, "Okay, you folks got my $250, and now I'm going to have
$250 worth of fun." I told her that I was going to see to it that
every cookie lover in the United States with an e-mail account has
a $250 cookie recipe from Neiman-Marcus...for free. She replied,
"I wish you wouldn't do this." I said, "Well, perhaps you should
have thought of that before you ripped off!" and slammed down the
phone.

So here it is!

Please, please, please pass it on to everyone you can possibly
think of. I paid $250 for this, and I don't want Neiman-Marcus to
EVER make another penny from this recipe!

NEIMAN-MARCUS COOKIES (Recipe may be halved)

2 cups butter
24 oz.chocolate chips
4 cups flour
2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
1 8 oz. Hershey Bar (grated)
5 cups blended oatmeal
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)

Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine powder.
Cream the butter and both sugars.
Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt,
baking powder, and soda.
Add chocolate chips, Hershey Bar, and nuts.
Roll into balls, and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 112 cookies.

PLEASE READ THE RECIPE AND SEND IT TO EVERY PERSON YOU KNOW
WHO HAS AN E-MAIL ADDRESS! THE COOKIES ARE REALLY TERRIFIC!!
Even if the people on your e-mail list don't eat sweets, send
it to them and ask them to pass it on. Let's make sure we get
this lady's $250.00 worth. Enjoy the cookies, they are good

**** End Hoax Copy ****

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The Hoax_Slayer Newsletter is published by:
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