[Silverfox]

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Guys, my Girlfriend works for Croydon Council and she has just emailed me to tell me that the Council have alerted all their staff to the ICE thing being a SCAM.

I am not clever enough to foward a copy of the Email, but it explains what it's about and tells everyone to delete the ICE thing from their phone as it is open to potential fraud, using your mobile phone. This SCAM has been rigged to coenside with the recent bombings, it is incredible the depths to which the bad guys will stoop. Apparently the police are on to it big time!!

Pete

 

[Black Bart]

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Thanks for info - scam or not it is being spread by chain email which is the worst way to distribute any kind of information.

ICE [in case of emergency] would not work for me anyway, I keep my phone password protected , i carry means of identification in my wallet. I believe that the proposed identity cards are a far better prospect than an ICE number in your phone.
Think about the reality of the situation you find a mobile phone at a disaster area or a bad accident, it has an ICE number , what would you do? - what would you say? How would you know whether the owner was alive or dead?
Nice idea - just not thought through properly

BB

 

[Silverfox]

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The recommendation in the email from council is to just put an emergency contact number in under some other heading instead. The Virus loaded email origionally sent round, meant the perpotrators get two goes at you, first the infect any unprotected computers, then using the ICE heading they can access the phone and charge up a big bill to their account!! Bastards!!

I am happy to foward the new email from Croydon Council, to anyone who requests it from me, so long as they do it through my email address as I am only capable of fowarding emails that way.

Pete

 

[GWEddie]

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Pete, why not copy the text from teh e-mail and just post it here?

 

[Silverfox]

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GWEddie wrote:

Pete, why not copy the text from teh e-mail and just post it here?

Er, Eddie, do you mean write it all down, then type in the content as a message here? I will do that if it helps, but won't have time til tonight.

Pete

 

[Silverfox]

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Well guys, I don't know what to believe now!! Have just talked to girlfriend ref this latest thing saying ICE is a hoax, she is unsure of the source of the email, Now the council's computer may be well secure, against virus etc, but it doesn't stop a normal email getting on. If someone wanted to post disinformation it wouldn't take much.

I therefor am keeping an open mind as to whether the whole thing is scam or for real. I am posting below, the web site address of the organization reconing to have started this scheme. I will leave it for you all to weigh up the authentisity of it all.
personally, I think that for now, I am going to stick with a card with contact details in my pocket, BB's valid points, have convinced me, that it is as good an idea as any.

If this was a genuine idea, typical that someone wants to screw it up! If it is all a big scam then that is equally as bad.

Hope this isn't all too confusing and someone will eventually clear up this matter.


Pete

www.eastanglianambulance.com

 

[gaswing]

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Pete, Eddie would have meant just copy & paste the text from the e-mail into a post here.

 

[gaswing]

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Looks genuine enough to me.





Silverfox wrote:

Well guys, I don't know what to believe now!! Have just talked to girlfriend ref this latest thing saying ICE is a hoax, she is unsure of the source of the email, Now the council's computer may be well secure, against virus etc, but it doesn't stop a normal email getting on. If someone wanted to post disinformation it wouldn't take much.

I therefor am keeping an open mind as to whether the whole thing is scam or for real. I am posting below, the web site address of the organization reconing to have started this scheme. I will leave it for you all to weigh up the authentisity of it all.
personally, I think that for now, I am going to stick with a card with contact details in my pocket, BB's valid points, have convinced me, that it is as good an idea as any.

If this was a genuine idea, typical that someone wants to screw it up! If it is all a big scam then that is equally as bad.

Hope this isn't all too confusing and someone will eventually clear up this matter.


Pete

http://www.eastanglianambulance.com

 

[Silverfox]

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gaswing wrote:

Pete, Eddie would have meant just copy & paste the text from the e-mail into a post here.

gaswing , I just spent half an hour typing a repy as to why I don't "do" copy and paste!!!!! only to wipe the whole flappin message on the last press of the buttons!!!!:whip::whip::whip:

Don't bother trying to explain how to do it. Others have tried and commited Hari Kari after hours of frustrating trying with me:bash2::headbanger::alco:

Pete

 

[Silicon Sam]

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I have no problem with cutting and pasting, it's only two keystrokes, so here goes. From Snopes.com. For more information, go to www.snopes.com and type in Emergency under the search heading, and it's the first search item.

You know the email that's gone round saying put ICE then a contact number in case of emergency? Well don't do it cos....

Be very careful with this one - although the intention is great it is unfortunately phase one of a phone based virus that is laying a path for propagating very quickly. Passing it on is part of the virus interestingly, such is the deviousness of the people who write these things.

We have already seen the "second phase" where a program is sent as part of a ring-tone download that goes into your address book and looks for something it recognises - you've guessed it, an address book entry marked "ICE or I.C.E." or whatever. It then sends itself to the "ICE list", charging you for the privilege. These warnings are hoaxes: no such danger exists. As the East Anglian Ambulance service noted on their web site: Email hoaxers are threatening a campaign to encourage people to store contact details in their mobile phones.

The ICE (In Case of Emergency) scheme gained widespread coverage in the wake of Thursday’s London bombings as word spread by email throughout the world.

People can add into the mobile’s address book ICE and the name and number of the person they would like contacted in an emergency.

But a subsequent email circulated by malicious hoaxers suggests that ICE is a type of mobile phone virus which accesses your address book and drains pay-as-you-go phones of its credits.

Matt Ware, spokesman for the East Anglian Ambulance Service, asked people to ignore the hoax email.

"I have been inundated with emails and phone calls from people worried that, having put ICE into their mobiles, they are now going to be charged for the privilege," he added.

"We would like to assure people that that’s not the case. Whoever began this second email chain is obviously a malicious person with way too much time on their hands."

Raymond

 

[exavid]

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Guys the hoax is a hoax. In the first place putting a phone number and name in your cell phone under any name can't possibly have anything to do with any virus. The ICE thing is only adding another phone listing. No possible way damage can be done by this. It won't necessarily be more effective than having an emergency card in your wallet but it can't hurt. Here's some more info on the hoax of a hoax:

http://www.snopes.com/crime/prevent/icephone.asp

http://www.sophos.com.au/virusinfo/hoaxes/ice.html

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/ice-campaign-email.html

I've done a lot of research on internet hoaxes and urban legends for a couple small companies and can say without much chance of error, don't believe any of the crap circulating via email without checking. Unfortunately gullible, well meaning people will copy and forward this junk everywhere.

 

[Harrystoy]

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exavid wrote:

Guys the hoax is a hoax. In the first place putting a phone number and name in your cell phone under any name can't possibly have anything to do with any virus. The ICE thing is only adding another phone listing. No possible way damage can be done by this. It won't necessarily be more effective than having an emergency card in your wallet but it can't hurt. Here's some more info on the hoax of a hoax:

http://www.snopes.com/crime/prevent/icephone.asp

http://www.sophos.com.au/virusinfo/hoaxes/ice.html

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/ice-campaign-email.html

I've done a lot of research on internet hoaxes and urban legends for a couple small companies and can say without much chance of error, don't believe any of the crap circulating via email without checking. Unfortunately gullible, well meaning people will copy and forward this junk everywhere.

Pauls right , and if you believe MicroSoft or Bill Gates is gonna pay you big bucks for passing along an e-mail.................................................. turn around quickly cuz Ed McMann is right behind you with a big fat Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes check in your name!:toast:

 

[Phil]

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Sorry guys but the good old BBC Look East (I saw the interview as it was broadcast) had the paramedic (the guy who came up with the idea) on the tv and were interveiwing him about it. If this is a hoax it is a very clever one as the guy being interviewed was in full paramedic uniform outside the local ambulance station. They also showed photographs of some the paramedic staff who helped come up with the idea.

The hoax is definetly a hoax

rgds

Phil

 

[Armitage Shanks]

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In my humble opinion ICE is far from a hoax....just another way to save time for the paramedics etc....which in turn could save your life.

Putting ICE...then a contact number of the one person you want informed that your bike is no longer shiny side up, is neither use nor ornament to any terrorist group. Ifanyone out there can prove to me that it is I will eat my crash helmet.

And one other thing....I dont wish to appear rude Silverfox...but if you cant copy and paste how could you understand the intricacies of a possibleelectronic scam?

 

[tpwood]

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The ICE email may be a hoax, but when I talked to my Mom about doing that, she mentioned to me that the Verizon instruction manual that came with her phone had instructions for adding the ICE into the calling list! So my guess is it's a good idea, but the email may have just been a way to spread a virus.

 

[Black Bart]

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I must be Old fashioned, the only thing I want a paramedic to do if I am in a life threatening accident is try to save my life not phone someone. My own code words of MAM WIFE and HOME suffice excellently I think. If I have a condiftion that could adversely affect my treatment then it should be on a dog tag around my neck. Not at the end of a mobile , the ICE number requires all of these condiftions at the same time to be effective .
1. Phone is charged - none of us go around with discharged batteries of course?
2. The phone is identifiable as belonging to the injured person
3, The ICE recipient is at the number/not on the phone/not got their phone switched off
4, there is no number 4
5, the paramedic needs to know the name of the injured person to avoid panic and confusion.
6, There are still plenty of places in the UK where you can't get a mobile signal.
There are more I'm sure
The point of this is really that there is the danger people will use this as a sole means of emergency contact, they could choose inappropriate people as their emergency contact ,
Whatever
I can be identified by the contents of my wallet , I keep my phone password protected in case its nicked ot lost.
If an idea like this is to be successful it has to be adopted by everyone , everyone needs the right guidelines , and it needs to be an official government body that creates these for consistency , The current way the original message was distributed was wrong , bred confusion and probably had the opposite effect to what was intended
However well meaning , I still think the vast majority of people will not even know this exists.
Thanks
BB

 

[Silverfox]

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Armitage Shanks wrote:

And one other thing....I dont wish to appear rude Silverfox...but if you cant copy and paste how could you understand the intricacies of a possibleelectronic scam?

I don't, that is why I said, here is what I've heard, make your own decisions about it all.

Bit the same as when i got the computer and the installer told me i had Norton on it, well it wasn't installed properly and the computer got infected with viruses up to the eye balls!!:whip:

In 1939 Clement Attlee came back from Berlin and his meeting with Hitler and assured the British public that he had a declaration of peace in his hands......

need I say more!!

Now i have taken out the ICE thing from my phone, If it is OK, then I won't have a problem, if it wasn't OK, I still have no problem.

Call me a doubting Thomas if you like, but I still believe everyone should have choice, preferably informed choice, then they can make their own judgement.

Exavid has put valid points and obviously feels he has faith in this idea, BB has just made a choice and suggested an alternative, which I happen to agree with, it is all a matter of choice. I don't blame you not having faith in what I have relayed I don't myself, but you have the choice. I sincerely hope that you aren't having to digest the helmet one day, I would dearly like to hear outright proof,that the scheme is virus/ scam, or terrorist free.

The intricacies of a possible electronic scam, are indeed beyond my understanding, you I am sure are better informed, and I am sure you can copy and paste, but I will eventually learn the second I am sure. In the mean time I will concentrate on the medullary rays of a piece of oak, or getting the angle right on this dovetail joint.

Pete

 

[exavid]

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tpwood wrote:

The ICE email may be a hoax, but when I talked to my Mom about doing that, she mentioned to me that the Verizon instruction manual that came with her phone had instructions for adding the ICE into the calling list! So my guess is it's a good idea, but the email may have just been a way to spread a virus.

The email thing was just a prank, similar to the ones circulating that tell you to look for a certain file in your hard drive that can damage your computer and tells you to erase it. Usually it's one of the various Microsoft routines that's part of the operating system.

The point is that ICE is harmless and possibly a good idea, though a card in your wallet might be more useful.

 

[Armitage Shanks]

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Well...with all this scare mongering going around..looks like i have got to change my opinion.

The bracelet I have been wearing for the past 35 years that says Im allergic to Penicillin and the phone number on the back of it that says" In case of emergency"... ( ICE) ...has apparently been a threat all along to national security. Guess I'll just have to bin it along with my I.D. cards, credit cards, driving licence, mobile phone...I wonder if the DLA will blank out my name in case some (terrorist) police officer thinks im a danger and runs it through his computer and passes it on to Osama Binladan

I personally think I have enough to cope with when5 out of ten car drivers are doing their best to knock me off my bike....in fact sod it...I'll sell the Wing...buy an acre of land..dig a hole in the middle of it and sit there cacking my pants just in case.

My final words on this subject are this..the real hoax is the email saying ICE is a hoax...we have all got more chance of getting killed or seriously hurt...simply because we ride...and if you think fractured bones...loss of skin and a dented pride hurts...wait till you see the state you bikes in....now that really hurts.

lets all just get a grip.

 

[Black Bart]

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Armitage Shanks wrote:

The bracelet I have been wearing for the past 35 years that says Im allergic to Penicillin and the phone number on the back of it that says" In case of emergency"... ( ICE) ...has apparently been a threat all along to national security. Guess I'll just have to bin it along with my I.D. cards, credit cards, driving licence, mobile phone...I wonder if the DLA will blank out my name in case some (terrorist) police officer thinks im a danger and runs it through his computer and passes it on to Osama Binladan

Great perspective and exactly the kind of thinking anyone who is serious about emergency contact details should adopt - I doff my hat in respect dude!

BB