A hoax e-mail has drawn an unusually swift response as both the SA government and the local American Embassy issue statements to debunk it.
The offending e-mail, which is still appearing in mailboxes today, purports to carry news from the CNN television station claiming South African citizens and the South African government have been identified as suspects in the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington earlier this week.
"The US-secretary of state, Colin Powell, revealed late last night that there is a strong possibility that South Africans and possibly the South African Government might be involved in the terrorism attacks," the message begins. It goes on to say that the possible motive is the US walkout at the recent racism conference in Durban.
Those familiar with e-mail hoaxes easily recognised the nature of the message by the various spelling and contextual mistakes it contains, but the US Embassy nevertheless yesterday issued a statement debunking it. It quoted a US state department spokesman calling the message "utterly and totally wrong".
The SA government also issued a statement on the hoax yesterday, reiterating that it had confirmed with both CNN and US officials that no such statement had been made and calling it a "piece of psychological and financial terrorism".
"It should be expected that people with depraved minds might wish to take advantage of such developments to achieve their own wicked intentions," the government said.
Government spokesman Joel Netshitenzhe says the process of tracking down the originator of the message has already started and that action will be taken against the group or individual responsible for it.
Mike Wright, CEO of The E-mail Corporation, says it should be possible to track down the source of the hoax by simply following the trail of messages. He says an official judicial request for information would smooth the way where the help of Internet service providers or network administrators is required.
Legal experts speculate that the charges against the guilty party could range from incitement to treason, although the latter is unlikely and would depend on the sender's intention.
There have also been other examples of unscrupulous operators seeking more direct benefit from the American attacks. E-mail spam claiming to solicit donations to the American Red Cross or victims of the New York attack have been received in SA. But money paid online through the links provided is sent to private accounts and not handed over to any non-profit organisations.
Spammers have also used events in America as an opportunity to compare anti-spam activists to terrorists. British site The Register reports that one mass-marketing firm sent out an e-mail saying anti-spam activists had "expressed their condolences to Bin Laden" and were "terrorists at heart". The message has been met with a furious response.
Related stories:
Spammers raise money for bogus 'Victims & Survivor Fund'
External links:
Anti-spammers compared to terrorists (The Register)
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