The It Takes Guts To Say 'Jesus' "Virus" Email Warning Is A Hoax

Last significant update: 28 January 1999

This information can be freely reproduced in any medium, as long as the information is unmodified.

The It Takes Guts To Say 'Jesus' hoax is just a trivial rewording of the WIN A HOLIDAY hoax, which in turn appears to be a rewording of the JOIN THE CREW hoax. Pathetic. So far, we've only seen it "bundled" with the "Return or Unable to Deliver" hoax.

Thanks to Shirley Worth, who sent us the first report we received of this hoax on 20 January 1999. Here's the text:

> VIRUS WARNING !!!!!!!

> If you receive an email titled "It Takes Guts to Say 'Jesus'" DO NOT OPEN
> IT. 

Identical to Win A Holiday hoax, with "WIN A HOLIDAY" replaced by "It Takes Guts to Say 'Jesus'".

Sheesh. Pathetic.

> It will erase everything on your hard drive. Forward this letter out to as
> many people as you can. This is a new, very malicious virus and not many
> people know about it. This information was announced yesterday morning from
> IBM; 

   

Wow. Hoaxters are just SOOOOOO original.

> please share it with everyone that might access the internet. Once again,
> pass this along to EVERYONE in your address book so that this may be
> stopped.

Instead, you should reply to the sender -- and as far back up the email chain as you have energy -- informing the originators that this is a hoax. For this particular hoax, I suggest that you provide a pointer to this URL (http://www.umich.edu/~virus-busters/hoaxes/guts.html)
For virus or hoax info, please see our main page (http://www.umich.edu/~virus-busters/) or go to another reputable site, like DataFellows (leaving our site).

   -BPB

visits to this page since 26 January, 1999 14:57 EDT