Who has never received one of those hideous “strings”? These menacing messages try to make you feel guilty about something or threaten you to burn in flaming hell if you do not you spread the message to X people, share it on your wall or retweet it …
As old as mankind, propagation forms have changed with the times. Many years ago, in another century, you had to handwrite, envelope, stamp and mail every single letter. Imagine having to send a single letter to all your acquaintances? With the arrival of the Internet and the i
mpact of new technologies, the speed of propagation of the chains was increased to the nth degree: the methods are extended and then come into play version “forward to 5 people by email or SMS” and somewhat later the same phenomenon appears in social networks, “share it on your wall if or else you …”
And the question I ask myself is, or else what?
- I’ll be unlucky in love?
- You’ll lose your job?
- The health of your family will be jeopardized?
- Your friends will suffer a scam after opening a link?
- You will be charged for using whatsapp?
What makes people to continue spreading these hoaxes?
These messages take advantage of the good feelings of the people, their greed, their superstitions and, above all, the ignorance of the receiver. They are easy bait for uneducated, fearful and gullible people.
Modern chains are divided into 5 very well identified types:
- Those which supposedly will help you economically.
- Those which will bring good or bad luck. It depends on whether or not you propagate the chain.
- Those which are altruistic and do not seek any personal benefit but to help others.
- Those which give you something in exchange for something else
- Jokes
How to detect them? Recognizing them is not difficult.
Before forwarding these messages it is best to dig a little on the Internet.
- If it is a hoax it will be displayed on the first page of Google.
- If it looks real, think of a solidarity campaign, for example, it’s best to see if we are referred to a website with the full information, campaign end dates are published, or if it is endorsed by any institution that promotes various social actions.
- If we are threatened or warned that something bad will happen if you don’t forward the message, then, it is a hoax, therefore, false.
- If the message comes unsigned, do not trust it.
If you still have doubts, just don’t resend the message. The FBI page has very good information.
What are they after?
Some people intend to overload servers, others want to spread real viruses, others seek listings of email addresses, and some even ask the user to delete files that are critical for the system to work, saying that it is a virus that has infected the hard drive.
If the strings were true, some of my friends should be millionaires and I should have died and at least thirty times …
And you, have you suffered any of these annoying chains?
Panda Security specializes in the development of endpoint security products and is part of the WatchGuard portfolio of IT security solutions. Initially focused on the development of antivirus software, the company has since expanded its line of business to advanced cyber-security services with technology for preventing cyber-crime.
45 comments
I should be dead too!! So many chains I ferociously broke 🙂
Educating people to hoaxes/jokes/chains seems an endless task… Unfortunately, it’s already a reflex to transfer or share any kind of electronic message or information without really reading it, something we would almost never do in the “physical” world!
Maybe people would pay more attention if they realize that the digital world is also our world…
People are already starting to see how what occurs in the digital world can have implications in the real world: data theft, cyber-bulling, etc.
Let’s hope the situation will improve… and chains would only exist in museums!
Yea, I’ve received this kind of chain messages too. I’m afraid very bad luck will happen to such as failling my exams, my family breaking apart, etc. because I read a message saying that if I don’t post it to 5 others places, very bad luck will happen to me and if I post it, my crush will kiss me by the nearest friday. It said that I need to repeat my mom’s name three times, my crush’s name five times (what do I do if I don’t have a crush??), etc. I’m afraid very bad luck will come and ruin my life. What should I do?? Could someone guide me and tell me what should I do? I am very worried..
Hi Chu,
Don’t trust this kind of chains. If you are well prepared you are not going to fail your exams, if you are loving and respectful to your family no one will tear you apart. Be kind to others and always have your devices protected so these emails or messages don’t infect your devices.
Thank you for your message!
Best regards,
Panda Security.
Even though it’s fake? ;-; because now I don’t really believe in them but I used to
Most people think this kind of noncense is real. I use to think the same. But don’t be fooled all of this is just trying to scare you away. So try next time when u get one try not sending it and u will see nothing is going to happen . Never trust these type of chain mails . Like when once I had one I thought it was real so I tried to make one which was easy and then I knew the whole time I was fooled . Forgot it and ignore it.
Hi chu I sensed u one from my name Mia. Hope u see it
Thanks
I got a ting sayin pg if I don’t copy or paste the message on the website I whole see a dead girl in my room that night I do not know what to do
Hi,
Thanks for your comment, do not worry. Those chains are not to be trusted and, more importantly, many times they contain malware.
Best regards,
Panda Security.
I suggest necrophilia
I have gotten the exact same message I ignored it nothing happened so don’t worry.
Im scared ive broken a Chain mail and i thought i was gonna have bad Luck in Love is it true i might have bad Luck?
Well i got a Chain mail and it said if i dont paste and copy on 5 websites that i will have bad Luck and lose my Love i dont know Wat too do???
Hi Alex,
These chains intend to overload servers, others want to spread real viruses, others seek listings of email addresses, and some even ask the user to delete files that are critical for the system to work, saying that it is a virus that has infected the hard drive. So we don’t recommend to continue them, we can assure you your fate does not rely on them.
Best regards,
Panda Security.
Don’t worry it’s all fake I’ve done it so many times but just don’t take it personally
Hi Alex,
Don’t worry, this kind of chains are hoaxes, before forwarding these messages it is best to dig a little on the Internet.
– If it is a hoax it will be displayed on the first page of Google.
– If it looks real, think of a solidarity campaign, for example, it’s best to see if we are referred to a website with the full information, campaign end dates are published, or if it is endorsed by any institution that promotes various social actions.
– If we are threatened or warned that something bad will happen if you don’t forward the message, then, it is a hoax, therefore, false.
– If the message comes unsigned, do not trust it.
– If you still have doubts, just don’t resend the message. The FBI page has very good information.
Thanks for reading us!
Best regards,
Panda Security.
My friends send me scary chain mail like if you don’t send this to 30 people this girl will take you down in a sewer and kill you it is scary
I got a chain messages saying a little girl got pushed down the sat airs and died and if I don’t repost then she’ll kill me at night and if I don’t belive it then I should google it…is that true???
Hi Summer,
Do not believe these chains, follow our recommendations in the post and use common sense. If those chains were true, half of the population using Internet would be dead by now.
Thanks for reading us.
Best regards,
Panda Security.
I’m scared of Chain message sended to me help me pls how can sleep well if you are scared?
Dont worry, all chain mail is fake. ? If your scared at night then just think about the chain and how ridiculous it is! How would a message connect to your death? That doesnt even make logical sense!
QUESTION: I went to Instagram and saw a post of god and if I don’t share with 14 ppl it didn’t said anything of death, or bad luck but said “Just don’t ignore it please” I have to do it in 10 minutes and I broke one chain before only.. Is it true..
DO NOT SEND IT, MY FRIEND GOT THAT ONE AND HER PHONE CRASHED THE DAY AFTER SHE SENT IT, IM NOT SURE IF THAT IS A COINCIDENCE BUT STILL, THAT ONE MIGHT SPREAD INTERNET VIRUSES
Hey I got one like if u don’t send to 50 plp my mom will die and one like if I don’t send to plp I will die it 7 days is it true or fake I hope it’s fake
Ok do not give it to plp
I have seen chain mails in Messenger and I tend not to forward them because it is not true and it didn’t happen to me. I will just ignore it and say to my friends that those are just some kind of spam.
Hi I just read a Pinterest one stated: if you don’t repost to 20 other pics then you will die at 12:59 tonight, I did because I was freaking out and scared and almost cried. Why do people do this and how do I stop this from showing up
are you stupid? its not real lol
I’ve been getting so much of these now from my friends and I always got scared and sent them and now sense I know there fake I’m not gonna send it so other people because I don’t want them to worry and get scared it’s that everyone is just trying to scare us or threaten us with fake threats from these chains I should be dead too because I broke some chains that said if you don’t share this to 15 people then you’ll die or your mom dies and i broke those chains and nothing happened so if your like me don’t worry about it because sense you read the article or what ever then you know it’s fake and just a scam to scare us all.
I have gotten a message about Carmen Winstead and it just freaks me out. What do I do?
I got that too, don’t worry. It’s fake news and ppl want it to scare you.
I got one that said that if you don’t share this to a hundred people you will die is that true
I have had that one to and it is fake as heck, got it last October and it’s now June
I got one saying that Carmen Winston will sleep in my bathroom every night if i dont send it. I didnt send it, and checked in the bathroom at 3:00am. Was she there? Nope.
Yes, I’ve received chain mails like “you’ll die If you won’t send this to 120 people”. I was like, what? But I just ignored it. I don’t forward it to my friends but rather I send it back to the one who sent me the mail
My cousin sends me so many different test chains and I HATE IT. They drive me crazy thinking whether I’m going to have a good or bad love life, or that I’m going to die in 7 days if I don’t forward it. She keeps sending me them and nothing bad happens. Most of the time good things happen instead of bad things. So if you have those types of friends, cousins, or siblings just and they send you those things tat you may or may not believe, just don’t do anything but have a good rest of your day!
I got one from someone saying that someone didn’t send it and her mom died 365 days later and if you love your mom you have to send it. I didn’t send it but now I’m really worried, especially with the coronavirus going around. What should I do?
My friends send me scary chain mail like if you don’t send this to 30 people this girl will take you down in a sewer and kill you it is scary
Hello Savannah,
Those messages are always fake and usually can lead into phising scams, so just ignore or delete it.
Panda Security
I also got a message that if you don’t forward this to 20 people you will loose your mom.. It’s about teresa fidalgo.. So please anyone tell me should I believe in this.. Please say me
I got one that said it was a ghost and that if I didn’t send it to 25 other people, then I would die some horrible death secondary to being murdered! I’m still a little shook. Please give any inlightment on this, that you can! **PLEASE**
Hello Nicholas,
Pay no mind, those messages are usually phising or spoofing scams. You can just delete it.
Panda Security
I’m really scared of a chain mail that my friend sent me. It was about someone named Teresa Fidalgo, and she would sleep with me and kill my mom if I didnt send it. I reported it on Instagram but I didnt send it and I’m really really scared now. If anyone could reply, or tell me if they’ve gotten the Chain Mail about Teresa Fidalgo, then please help.
My friends always send me chain letters and its really annoying. I’ve gotten ones like “If you send it, your crush will ask you out, but if you dont then Carmen Winston will haunt your bathroom tonight.” And I was scared at first but then I started laughing at the thought of Carmen Winston in my bathroom, what would she do all night? What if she gets hungry? Do ghosts even eat? Then there was Teresa Fidalgo, saying I’ll sleep with you every night, BLA bla bla, look me up on google if you dont believe me. So I was like “okay” so i looked it up on google and THE VERY FIRST thing that came up was a sit titled “Who is Teresa Fidalgo? Debunking viral chain mail” and of course after that I wouldn’t believe that my mom would die of a message in a year, oh and did I mention that my friend sent one to me from “God” and her phone crashed. Dont know if that was a coincidence, it probably was, but still, just saying.
I got a really scary one saying Annabelle will come to my room at 3am . I am really scared wht should I do .
I saw one that went along the lines of “hi, I’m a 12 yo girl and if you don’t post this 20 times I’ll stab you 20 times, blah blah blah” should I be worried bc I personally think it’s bs but idk