Has Liz Taylor Been Murdered?
Fri, Aug 15, 2008
Has Liz Taylor really been murdered?
Have you, like me, recently received an email which claims that veteran screen actress Elizabeth Taylor has met her demise?
Does the email ask you to click in order to read the full story?
If so… don’t do it!
Not only is the subject matter rather tasteless, but the email hoax is also likely to compromise your computer if you don’t immediately delete it.
Of course, reports of Elizabeth Taylor having been killed are completely untrue - the 76 year old actress is very much alive and well.
Email hoaxes reporting the deaths of famous persons are quite common, especially at times when other celebrities are known to have passed away.
I guess the author of this one is hoping that the recent deaths of Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes will in some way lend some credence to their false claim.
As with most spam and scam emails, this one spoofs the headers in an attempt to appear legitimate.
The one I received, for example, appeared to come from CNN, though I’m sure other genuine news agencies have been spoofed too.
The link within the email which appears to go to the original ‘news’ story will actually take you somewhere far less pleasant if you happen to click on it.
The malicious website you are directed to will then ask you to install a Flash Player, though in reality that link is actually a cue for malware to be dumped onto your computer.
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There have been a lot of these celebrity death emails recently although I haven’t seen the Elizabeth Taylor one. This week I got one about Meg Ryan - I was like, “Really? Meg Ryan? Really? Is she even around anymore?” They are going to have to come up with someone way more interesting and topical than Meg Ryan for me to be even remotely intrigued.
I’ve also seen ones about Tom Cruise, Larry King and the Pope.
I remember Meg Ryan, but only for one particular scene in one particular movie!