Lock Bumping-a Threat to Security at Home or Office-Truth!

Summary of the eRumor: Stories, some with links to video reports, about a method of opening locks called "lock bumping," a simple way for the bad guys to be able to open locked doors.

The Truth: Lock bumping is real and also very simple and, as of February 2007, very well known because of the Internet. Stories began circulating about lock bumping and because it was not widely known and represented a real threat, folks forwarded the stories to friends and family as a warning to be aware of. Unfortunately, what also started circulating was detailed instructions about how to do lock bumping, which represented a threat in itself. A Dutch video that began making the rounds of the Internet in 2005 may have marked the start of the spread of interest in lock bumping. Lock bumping is a simple technique of opening what are called pin tumbler locks, which are the most common locks in use for residential and business doors. Bumping involves customizing the type of key that fits into the particular kind of lock then tapping or hitting the key in just the right way and at just the right moment to cause the lock to open, therefore the term "bumping." Bumping has become so popular that there are web sites that are openly selling bump keys for a variety of locks including a "bundle" of all of the keys for a special prices. A manufacturing company is selling a special bumping tool that is used to tap the bump key in a lock. The experts say that there are locks that are not vulnerable to lock bumping. Those include magnetic or electronic locks and locks using rotating disks. They are more expensive but worth it if you want to feel secure. Talk with your locksmith about the differences and what locks are recommended.

from:truthorfiction.com

High School Officials Pull the Plug on Valedictorian Because of Religious Content of Her Speech-Truth!

Summary of the eRumor: A story of Brittany McComb, a Nevada teen who was valedictorian of her high school graduating class. The text of her speech had been edited by both the school administration and the ACLU and she was told to remove references to the Bible and to Christ that were in her remarks. When the time came for her speech, however, she left them in and the P.A. microphone was cut off just before she said the word "Christ."

The Truth: The story is true and the text of the eRumor is from a release by the American Family Association, which asked for names to be added to a petition to protest the action by school officials. The incident took place at Foothill High School in Henderson, Nevada, which is part of the Clark County School District. According to an article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal on June 17, 2006, the school officials felt they were on good ground to kill the microphone. They had reviewed the speech. told McComb that it went across the line, and had warned her what would happen if she disregarded them. They wouldn't object to a reference to religion in McComb's speech, but they said that her text was preaching her religion and amounted to proselytizing. Her speech included scripture references, nine mentions of God, two mentions of the Lord, one mention of Christ, and a phrase, according to the article, that talked about "God's love being so great that he gave his only son to suffer an excruciated death in order to cover everyone's shortcomings and forge a path to heaven." The administration said that if they had allowed the speech as written it would have violated court decisions against school sponsored advocacy of religion. McComb, who is scheduled to attend Biola University in California in the Fall, said she thought about it and decided that the logic and freedom of speech she had been taught at the school should apply to her graduation address as well. Updated 6/22/06

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

Brittany McComb was the valedictorian at Foothill High School recently. She graduated with a 4.7 GPA. She earned the right to address the other graduates at Foothill, located in Henderson, Nevada. She gave a copy of her graduating speech to the school administrators. It contained some Biblical references and even mentioned (one time) the name “Christ.” The school administrators censored some of the Biblical references. They also censored the single reference to Christ. Then the school officials handed the speech over to the ACLU for approval and/or more censoring. After getting the OK from the ACLU, Brittany’s speech (minus the censored references to the Bible and Christ) was approved. Brittany was warned that if she deviated from the ACLU approved language, her mike would be cut off. Then came the moment for the big decision. She would not bow down, she decided. She would go with her original version. She stepped to the mike and began her speech. But just before she could utter the name “Christ,” her mike went dead. School officials silenced her. The crowd of 400 jeered for several minutes, angry at the action of the school officials. The ACLU was happy. They had silenced another Christian. “I went through four years of school at Foothill and they taught me logic and they taught me freedom of speech. God’s the biggest part of my life. Just like other valedictorians thank their parents, I wanted to thank my lord and savior,” Brittany said. Because she refused to bow down to the ACLU’s idol of gold, she did not get her wish. She was censored. This young heroine deserves praise and a thank you from those who believe in free speech.

from:truthorfiction.com

German Bridge That Is For Boats-Truth!

Summary of the eRumor: The email includes a picture of what appears to be a bridge for boats! It says the bridge is over the River Elbe and joins the former East and West Germany, part of a unification project.

The Truth: The bridge is known as the Magdeburg Water Bridge and provides a link between two German shipping canals, the Elbe-Havel canal and the Mittellandkanal. It's the longest and largest boat bridge in the world. Connecting the two important canals has been envisioned since the early part of the last century and construction was actually begun in the 1930's but was hindered by two world wars and then the Cold War that split Germany into the East and the West. The bridge is a kilometer long and cost more than $500 million Euros. Without the bridge commercial traffic was dependent on the Elbe river, which was not reliable throughout the year because of occasions of low water levels, and which sometimes stranded boats and barges.

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

Water Bridge in Germany.... What a feat! Six years, 500 million euros, 918 meters long.......now this is engineering! This is a channel-bridge over the River Elbe and joins the former East and West Germany, as part of the unification project. It is located in the city of Magdeburg, near Berlin. The photo was taken on the day of inauguration. To those who appreciate engineering projects.....

from:www.TruthOrFiction.com

New Boeing 797 Giant "Blended Wing" Passenger Airliner-Fiction!

Summary of the eRumor: The story says that the Boeing Company is developing a radical new passenger jetliner that will carry 1,000 passengers. It's designated the 797 and is a "blended wing" design looking a lot like the old flying wing experiments of the 50's.

The Truth: TruthOrFiction.com went straight to the source, the Boeing Company. A spokesperson said that it is not true that Boeing is developing a commercial blended wing aircraft. He asked that we help stop the perpetuation of the story. What is true, according to Boeing, is that Boeing Phantom Works, the company's advanced research and development organization, is doing research on the blended wing body design as a potential military aircraft. Boeing has built a scale model to test its low-speed flying characteristics in a wind tunnel. There are also plans (as of 7/13/07) to flight test a scale model. Updated 7/14/06

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

Subject:: Boeing 797 Boeing to take on Airbus with (1000 seat) giant 797 Blended Wing plane Boeing is preparing a 1000 passenger jet that could reshape the Air travel industry for the next 100 years.The radical Blended Wing design has been developed by Boeing in cooperation with the NASA Langley Research Centre.The mammoth plane will have a wing span of 265 feet compared to the 747's 211 feet, and is designed to fit within the newly created terminals used for the 555 seat Airbus A380, which is 262 feet wide.The new 797 is in direct response to the Airbus A380 which has racked up 159 orders, but has not yet flown any passengers.Boeing decide to kill its 747X stretched super jumbo in 2003 after little interest was shown by airline companies, but has continued to develop the ultimate Airbus crusher 797 for years at its Phantom Works research facility in Long Beach, Calif. The Airbus A380 has been in the works since 1999 and has accumulated $13 billion in development costs, which gives Boeing a huge advantage now that Airbus has committed to the older style tubular aircraft for decades to come.There are several big advantages to the blended wing design, the most important being the lift to drag ratio which is expected to increase by an amazing 50%, with overall weight reduced by 25%, making it an estimated 33% more efficient than the A380, and making Airbus's $13 billion dollar investment look pretty shaky. High body rigidity is another key factor in blended wing aircraft, It reduces turbu lence and creates less stress on the air frame which adds to efficiency, giving the 797 a tremendous 8800 nautical mile range with its 1000 passengers flying comfortably at mach .88 or 654 mph (+-1046km/h) cruising speed another advantage over the Airbus tube-and-wing designed A380's 570 mph (912 km/h) The exact date for introduction is unclear, yet the battle lines are clearly drawn in the high-stakes war for civilian air supremacy.

from:truthorfiction.com

Help Find Ashley Flores-Fiction!

Summary of the eRumor: The eRumor includes a picture and says it is of a 13-year old girl named Ashley Fores who has been missing for two weeks. She is said to be the daughter of a deli manager for Acme markets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

The Truth: TrtuthOrFiction.com has not been able to find any evidence of a missing 13-year old named Ashley Flores. The Philadelphia police department says it knows nothing of her. A spokesperson for Acme Markets in Philadelphia says people have been contacting them to offer help, but they know nothing of a missing Ashley Flores either. This eRumor not only has all the ingredients of a hoax but even uses some of the wording from two other widely circulated eRumors about missing children that are also hoaxes. We're looking into reports that Ashley Flores is real and that this may have originated as a joke. Last updated 5/22/06

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

please look at the picture, read what her mother says, then forward his message on. Maybe if everyone passes this on, someone will see this child. That is how the girl from Stevens Point was found by circulation of her picture on tv. The internet circulates even overseas, South America , and Canada etc. Thanks Please pass this to everyone in your address book. We have a Deli manager (Acme Markets) from Philadelphia , Pa who has a 13 year old daughter who has been missing for 2 weeks. Keep the picture moving on. With luck on her side she will be found. "I am asking you all, begging you to please forward this email on to anyone and everyone you know, PLEASE. My 13 year old girl, Ashley Flores, is missing. She has been missing for now two weeks. It is still not too late. Please help us. If anyone any where knows anything, please contact me at: HelpfindAshleyFlores@yahoocom I am including a picture of her. All prayers are appreciated!! " It only takes 2 seconds to forward this. If it was your child, you would want all the help you could get.

from:truthorfiction.com

Enter your ATM Pin Number Backwards to Summon Police-Fiction!

Summary of the eRumor: An alert that if you ever find yourself in a scary situation at a banking ATM machine, such as a thief forcing you to withdraw cash, just enter your personal identification number (PIN) backwards. That will automatically send a message to the police that you are in trouble and they will respond to the machine. The eRumor says that most people don't know about this.

The Truth: The eRumor is false because there isn't anywhere that we could find where this emergency procedure at ATM machines is actually being used. There is a seed of truth to it, however, in that the idea has been floating around for a while. One of the biggest proponents has been in Illinois attorney named Joseph Zingher. He says the notion came to him when he was a law student at the University of Illinois and one evening was withdrawing money from an ATM in a scary part of town. He patented his concept in 1998 and has been trying to talk banks into using it ever since. Under Zingher's system, every ATM account would have two PIN numbers---the normal PIN used to withdraw money and what he calls the "ATM SafetyPIN" to alert police that something bad was happening at the ATM. It has also come to be popularly called the "Panic PIN." The SafetyPIN would typically be the reverse of the normal PIN number or some other variation that would be easy to remember. Legislation was passed in Illinois that would allow banks to adopt the system, but did not mandate it. So far, no banks or financial institutions have done so. Zingher has offered to let Illinois-based banks to use it for free but some of them have said they think it would be too expensive and that ATM crime is not frequent enough. Zingher says that ATM crime is much higher than believed because not all crime reporting reflects whether it has taken place in connection with an ATM or forced withdrawal of cash. Updated 10/26/06

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

FYI- If you are ever forced to withdraw monies from an ATM machine, you can notify the police by entering your Pin # in reverse. The machine will still give you the monies you requested, but unknown to the robber, etc, the police will be immediately dispatched to help you. The broadcast stated that this method of calling the police is very seldom used because people don't know it exists, and it might mean the difference between life and death. Hopefully, none of you will have to use this, but I wanted to pass it along just in case you hadn't heard of it. Please pass it along to everyone possible.

Forward an Email for Polish Burn Victim Alexandra-Fiction!

Summary of the eRumor: A picture of a burned infant girl with the story that her name is Alexandra and she was injured in a house fire in Poland. She's being cared for in Cracow but her care is expensive and her parents are not able to keep paying. You are asked to forward the email and they will receive 3 cents for each forwarded email to apply to Alexandra's care.

The Truth: This is a hoax. There is no system being used on the Internet that traces the pathways of forwarded emails to compensate anybody. Additionally, if this is a patient from Poland she is probably receiving treatment through the government's National Health Fund. We don't know where the picture came from or who the girl is in the picture, but whoever decided to fabricate this eRumor apparently doesn't care that she is being dishonored and put on display for sake of a joke. If anybody knows who is in this picture, let us know so we can give her the dignity of a name and correct information about who she is and what happened to her. Updated 12/12/06

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

Dear All, Alexandra came out of a rigging fire alive, but now has to fight for her life and a normal future. She is 14 months old and she has burnt skin all over her body, damage facial bones (as a result of very high temperature). She does not have half of her face. She is in hospital in Cracow - Poland and one of the best specialist is looking after her. However she still has to go through many surgeries and then long rehab. Unfortunately her parents do not have any more money. Therefore we are asking for your help. For each forwarded email her parents will get 3 cents. Please help them and forward that email to as many people as you can.