Question: Doug overlooked something!

Editor's Note: this question/comment is in response to the Ericsson Free Computer Hoax question.

Hi ,

http://www.virtu-software.com/ask-doug/QandA.asp?q=68

"Is Ericcson really giving away free computer laptops?"

"The Ericsson Company is distributing free computer lap-tops"

"Make sure to send a copy to: anna.swelung@ericcson.com"

You didn't mention, and therefore I suspect that you didn't notice, that the domain name on the email address is not that of the well-known phone manufacturer. In fact, it leads to a cybersquatter ad page.

--
Scott.

Answer

Hi Scott,

Thanks for mentioning that. You'll get a kick out of this; somewhere in the long list of forward comments that went with this email, one of the forwarders made a comment along these lines (I can't find the original email at the moment, so this is not word for word...)

I'm pretty sure that email address is spelled wrong, so I changed the spelling

So, they actually changed it away from one spelling (which may or may not have been correct) to a certainly incorrect spelling!

And that, in itself, is a good reminder of why no one should pay any attention to these mass forwards; how many people do you suppose have modified that email since it was first sent out?

As it turns out, if you run a search for this hoax online, you'll find as many variations on the email address as there are emails. Some have Anna Swelung, some have Anna Swelund, some spell the domain erricson, ericcson, ericsson, etc.

Thanks,
Doug

ps - looking back on the previous post, I realized that I also spelled Ericsson in three different ways: Erricson, Ericcson, and Ericsson. I've gone back and fixed those!