Outline
Rapidly circulating text message claims that Blackberry users must broadcast the same message to all their contacts or they will miss out a BBM update and will no longer be able to chat with friends because they will have the old version.
Brief Analysis
The message is an absurd hoax designed to fool people into sending on utterly pointless information. Users do not need to forward a text message to receive service updates or stop their accounts from being disabled. Any message that makes such a claim is sure to be a hoax and should not be taken seriously. Several similar hoaxes have surfaced over recent years.
Example
Dear Blackberry users, We will update the BBM from 11:00 pm till 5:00 am today so , if you didn’t send this message to all of your contacts your update will be cancelled and you would not be allowed to chat with your contacts as you have the old version 062345877#REP
:Broadcast this and your BBM will get repaired..
Detailed Analysis
According to this message, which is circulating rapidly via Blackberry users, those who do not “broadcast” the message straight away will miss out on an important service update. The message claims that those who do not send on the message will no longer be able to chat to their contacts because they will be left using the old version and their device will not be “repaired”.
However, the claims in the message are utter nonsense. The message is just one more in a line of similar hoaxes that claim that Blackberry users must send on a text to keep their accounts active or avoid disruptions to their service.
Blackberry has published information on its website warning users about such hoaxes. They have also dismissed the messages as spam and urged users to ignore them via their Service Centre Facebook Page.
No legitimate company or service provider is ever likely to require customers to repost a silly message in order to keep their accounts or prove that they are active users. Any message that makes such a claim is virtually certain to be a hoax and should not be reposted.
If you receive one of these hoax messages, do not add to the clutter by sending it to others. And take a moment to let the sender know that the message is a hoax.
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
