Summary: Boycott Watch Helps Break Another
False Email Report
Some State Health Departments have
recently received inquiries concerning e-mail messages that allege that women
have died after inhaling a free perfume sample that was mailed to them.
According to these e-mails, the perfume sample was poisonous. The e-mails also
state that free samples received in the mail, e.g., lotions, perfumes, diapers,
etc., should be thrown away.
These e-mails are a
hoax. They are a variation of another hoax often referred to as the Klingerman
virus. The information in the e-mail notice is untrue. If you receive an e-mail
message about poisonous perfume samples received in the mail please do not
forward it to others.
Although these e-mail messages
are a hoax, if you are concerned about the contents of a package you receive in
the mail, contact your local post office. It is a criminal offense to send
potentially hazardous agents through the mail for the purpose of deliberately
causing harm to human health. When such an incident occurs, the local emergency
response system should be activated by dialing 911 in most communities; in
communities without 911 systems, local law enforcement authorities should be
notified. The local FBI field office and local and state public health
authorities also should be notified.
Source: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
