I cannot independently attest to the provenance of these warnings, but I was asked to pass them along by a regular thread participant currently out of town:
#1. Both of these came to me from my son who works for the City of Lakeland, Fla. (direct from the LPD) Terrifying to say the least....
This is an alert about a virus in the original sense of the word...one that affects your body, not your hard drive. There have been 23 confirmed cases of people attacked by the Klingerman Virus, a virus that arrives in your REAL MAIL BOX not your e-mail in box. Someone has been mailing large blue envelopes, seemingly at random, to people inside the Envelope mailed in the US. On the front of the ENVELOPE IN BOLD BLACK LETTERS IS "FOR YOU FROM THE KLINGERMAN FOUNDATION..."When the envelopes are opened, there is a small sponge sealed in plastic. This sponge carries what has come to be known as the Klingerman Virus, as public
health officials state this is a strain of virus they have not previously encountered. When asked for comment, Florida police Sergeant Stetson said, "We are working with the
CDC and the USPS, but have so far been unable to track down the origins of these letters. The return addresses have all
beendifferent, and we are certain a remailing service is being used, making our jobs that much more difficult." Those who have come in contact with the Klingerman Virus have been hospitalized with severe dysentery. So far seven of the twenty-three victims have died. There is no legitimate Klingerman Foundation mailing unsolicited gifts.
If you receive an oversized blue envelope in the mail marked," A GIFT FROM THE KLINGERMAN FOUNDATION", DO NOT open it. Place the envelope in a strong plastic bag or container, and call the police immediately. The "gift"
inside is one you definitely do not want. PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO EVERYONE YOU CARE ABOUT.
#2
**********DANGEROUS PRANK:*****************
* Please read and forward to anyone you know who drives. My name is Captain Abraham Sands of the Jacksonville, Florida Police Department. I have been asked by state and local authorities to write this email in order to get the word out to car drivers of a very dangerous prank that is occurring in numerous states.
* Some person or persons have been affixing hypodermic needles to the underside of gas pump handles. These needles appear to be infected with HIV positive blood. In the Jacksonville area alone there have been 17 cases of
people being stuck by these needles over the past five months.
*We have verified reports of at least 12 others in various states around the country. It is believed that these may be copycat incidents due to someone reading about the crimes or seeing them reported on the television. At this point no one has been arrested and catching the perpetrator(s) has become our top priority.
* Shockingly, of the 17 people who where stuck, eight have tested HIV positive and because of the nature of the disease, the others could test positive in a couple years.
* Evidently the consumers go to fill their car with gas, and when picking up the pump handle get stuck with the infected needle. IT IS IMPERATIVE TO CAREFULLY CHECK THE HANDLE of the gas pump each time you use one. LOOK AT
EVERY SURFACE YOUR HAND MAY TOUCH, INCLUDING UNDER THE HANDLE.
* If you do find a needle affixed to one, immediately contact your local police department so they can collect the evidence. |
