About Hoax-Slayer

Home About Hoax-Slayer
by Brett M. Christensen

Mission Statement

The goal of the Hoax-Slayer Website is to help make the Internet a safer, more pleasant and more productive environment by:

  • Debunking email and Internet hoaxes
  • Thwarting Internet scammers
  • Educating web users about email and Internet security issues
  • Combating spam

About Hoax-Slayer’s Mission

Hoaxes spread misinformation, waste bandwidth, and lessen the effectiveness of the Internet as a communication tool. Hoaxes circulate via email, social media, blogs, online forums, and fake-news websites. Hoax-Slayer helps stop the continued circulation of these hoaxes by publishing information about them. Hoax-Slayer allows Internet users to check the veracity of a large number of hoaxes. Information about new hoaxes is added regularly

Around the world, Internet scammers steal millions of dollars per year from unsuspecting Internet users. These criminal activities are successful largely because many Internet users are not aware of the ways in which scammers operate and may not recognise scam attempts if they are targeted. Hoax-Slayer aims to counteract these criminal activities by publishing information about common types of Internet scams and providing examples of scam messages.

Many users inadvertently compromise their online privacy and the security of their computer equipment because of poor computer security practices. Hoax-Slayer publishes information that makes users aware of email, Internet, and computer security issues and what to do about them.

Spam is the scourge of the Internet. Hoax-Slayer combats the problem by providing information that can help Internet users recognise and deal with spam.

We thoroughly research all articles published on Hoax-Slayer prior to publication. Our findings are based on information available via a variety of credible sources including other reputable websites, news articles, press releases, government or company publications and consumer alerts.

If required, we also contact companies, government departments, or other relevant entities directly to enquire about the veracity of particular messages.

Our articles generally include in-text hyperlinks and a separate reference list that allow readers to check the information for themselves.

About Brett Christensen

Hoax-Slayer is owned and operated by Brett Christensen from his home office in the small outback town of Longreach, Queensland, Australia.

Brett founded Hoax-Slayer in 2003. He researches and writes most of the articles published on Hoax-Slayer and manages the day-to-day running of the site.

 

Brett Christensen

Site History

Work began on the Hoax-Slayer website in August 2003. Earlier in 2003, Brett Christensen created a Yahoo Email discussion group designed to debunk and expose hoaxes and scams. The idea for the Hoax-Slayer website grew out of this Yahoo group. In March 2004, Brett decided to close the Yahoo group and concentrate on adding information to the website and publishing the Hoax-Slayer Newsletter.

Since its launch, Hoax-Slayer has grown from a single home page to a large site with thousands of separate web pages. More articles are added to the website every week.

In 2015, work began on a new implementation of Hoax-Slayer that uses a modern content management system (CMS) supplied by WordPress. The CMS makes it much easier to publish and update material and perform site maintenance tasks. As a result, we can spend much more of our time writing articles and much less time performing mundane site maintenance tasks. So, we can offer even more content to our regular followers and visitors. The new CMS implementation has the web address hoax-slayer.net while the legacy site still lives at  hoax-slayer.com. However, both versions are tightly integrated and function as one entity.

The original Hoax-Slayer is a very large site with thousands of separate web pages. Converting all of the existing content to the new CMS is not an easy or trivial matter and is an ongoing project.

Contact Details

If you wish to offer feedback, ask questions or submit examples, please contact us.

You can also write to:
Brett Christensen
127 Crane Street
Longreach, QLD, 4730
Australia

Business Details:

Hoax-Slayer is part of a business that trades under the name Brett Christensen and has the Australian Business Number (ABN) 12 992 424 947
ABN Lookup

Media and News

Multiple news outlets have interviewed, quoted or mentioned Hoax-Slayer. These outlets include The Sydney Morning Herald, Bundaberg NewsMail, CBS News, and The Guardian. Many other websites, blogs, forums, and social media pages have also referenced Hoax-Slayer.

Jan Harold Brunvand’s iconic work, ‘The Encyclopaedia of Urban Legends’ references Hoax-Slayer on page 330 under Internet Resources. Jan Harold Brunvand is one of America’s foremost experts on folklore and urban legends. Brett Christensen has given numerous radio interviews both in Australia and internationally.

Radio Interviews (Audio)

Sarah Mashman – “Slaying Hoaxes with Brett Christensen” – ABC Tasmania (April 2013)

MP3 – Peter Anthony Holder – The Stuph File (October 2012)

 

Media Mentions

Importance Notice

After considerable thought and with an ache in my heart, I have decided that the time has come to close down the Hoax-Slayer website.

These days, the site does not generate enough revenue to cover expenses, and I do not have the financial resources to sustain it going forward.

Moreover, I now work long hours in a full-time and physically taxing job, so maintaining and managing the website and publishing new material has become difficult for me.

And finally, after 18 years of writing about scams and hoaxes, I feel that it is time for me to take my fingers off the keyboard and focus on other projects and pastimes.

When I first started Hoax-Slayer, I never dreamed that I would still be working on the project all these years later or that it would become such an important part of my life. It's been a fantastic and engaging experience and one that I will always treasure.

I hope that my work over the years has helped to make the Internet a little safer and thwarted the activities of at least a few scammers and malicious pranksters.

A Big Thank You

I would also like to thank all of those wonderful people who have supported the project by sharing information from the site, contributing examples of scams and hoaxes, offering suggestions, donating funds, or helping behind the scenes.

I would especially like to thank David White for his tireless contribution to the Hoax-Slayer Facebook Page over many years. David's support has been invaluable, and I can not thank him enough.

Closing Date

Hoax-Slayer will still be around for a few weeks while I wind things down. The site will go offline on May 31, 2021. While I will not be publishing any new posts, you can still access existing material on the site until the date of closure.

Thank you, one and all!

Brett Christensen,
Hoax-Slayer