Most Internet and email hoaxes are relatively harmless, albeit in bad taste, but few fall into the category of BRUTAL, MERCILESS and HEARTLESS as do the “Sick, Dying and Missing” children hoaxes that have been floating through cyberspace at mach speed. It is important to distinguish between “factual” and “fictitious” missing children hoaxes. Factual hoaxes implicate real families, real children like: the two teenagers that fabricated their stranger abduction because they wanted to stay out all night at a party, or the child who faked her kidnapping to get someone she didn’t like in “trouble.” Those are appalling enough, especially in light of the horrendous emotional trauma the family suffers until the truth is revealed. Fictitious missing children hoaxes, on the other hand, involve made up names of families and imaginary missing children— stories that are conjured up in the minds of depraved people for the unambiguous purpose of preying on people’s fears, soliciting illegal funds, or perpetuating their perverted obsessions. Both types of hoaxes are unfortunate. So, why is the distinction important? Beyond the obvious, the fictitious hoaxes desensitize people as to the significance of both public support and the cause for the 800,000 real missing children that are reported to US law enforcement each year. When people are sent emails about a missing child, only to find out later that it was classified as a fictitious hoax, the “cry wolf” syndrome quickly takes root. Consequently, the genuine AMBER alerts or other missing child emails issued by real victim-families and registered child-search centers all become suspect. At Operation Lookout, we believe it is our responsibility to keep the public informed on all matters that relate to Missing Children including assisting in separating truth from fiction, fact from fraud. This page is dedicated to the precious children who are waiting to be rescued. The innocent, who are hoping that the searching eyes of the public won’t be closed because “it is probably just another missing child hoax.” The truth is: Nearly a million aren’t! To further appreciate the scope of this problem, click the link below. After reading the opening page, scroll down to the bottom and click on “Sick, Dying and Missing Children” listed under Related Stories. And, please, if you receive a missing child email you believe to be a hoax, don’t just delete it, you can check it at (or report it to) the same link below. http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blmiss5b.htm
Internet hoaxes come in all shapes and sizes: From messages asking for money for a child’s critical illness— to Camel Spiders in Iraq, Terrorists Buying UPS uniforms on eBay, the Story of “Taps,” the all too numerous computer virus hoaxes... and so it goes on and on, ad nauseam.