The school was able to fix the problem soon after it was discovered. The sick-child hoax has also been mischievously modified. Apparently the guy who perpetrated the hoax was jealous of this kid because they were both in love with the same girl. The family of the Pittsburgh child has put out public requests for people to stop calling them to see if he actually needs get-well cards, Emery said. Helps people track hoaxes and will track the recipients of a hoax and notify them about the deception.
Financial gain can be a motive, too.
In April, the share price of a company called Pairgain Technologies increased by 30 percent in a few hours after a false report that the company was being bought was posted on a personal Web site. Emery sees larger motives for telling improbable tales and disseminating them. People like to scare themselves, he said, whether they are gazing at a campfire or into the glow of a computer screen. They also like to unite against the behemoths of the business world. Besides, the people who start hoaxes are almost assured of anonymity, for better or worse, because verification of a letter's authenticity is nearly impossible.