A hoax e-mail warning of
HIV-positive needles being placed in cinema seats has caused panic across the
University as people anxiously forwarded the warning to friends. The e-mail, which exists in many
forms, states that cinema-goers sat on needles and found a note claiming “You
have been infected by HIV.” The e-mail then continues to warn that tests on
some of the victims have proved that they had indeed contracted the virus.
Students, believing it to be true, have forwarded it on to college and
departmental friends. The e-mail was also sent on the
official Biology mailing list, but a student who knew it was a hoax responded
immediately and warned people to delete it. A member of St Hilda’s JCR received
an e-mail and sent it to the Welfare Officer, Holly Ware, who then sent it out
to the JCR mailing list, believing it to be true. The next day, however, the IT
Officer found that the e-mail was a hoax, and a message was immediately sent
out to the JCR apologising for the panic it caused as well as stating that the
information was untrue. Ware said, “I could not take the risk that this warning
may have been false and felt it my duty as Welfare Officer to inform students
of any danger.” The e-mail exists in a variety of
forms, some versions stating that needles have been placed in the coin
collection compartments of phone boxes and cash machines.ARCHIVE: 2nd week MT 2005
Welfare HIV e-mail hoax
