Are We Becoming Social Media Spammer-Fools?

We are very much prone to spams. And we love the sense of blind-sharing, largely on Facebook (or so I think). We see some stuff, like it, just share it and never look back. It may have some effects somewhere, or may just fade away with the flow.

It has been nagging me every time I see a probably con story shared which would invariably be 'claimed' to be a news or a purposefully hidden fact. I mean, how often do we try to know if it is actually real? Is it that we don't have time (which is a freaking lame excuse) or that we just don't care?

Many of these stories come with an attached emotional blackmail:

Share this if you love your nation...
Share this if you are a human with heart...
Share this if... whatsoever

And most of us fall for it. I will tell you why we should know that what we are sharing is really true.

1. Would you tell something (in person) to a crowd which you don't know whether is true or not?

2. Would you hear from someone (in person) some shit without asking him "how do you know that?" or "who told you this?"

3. Would you ever want to get caught and look like a fool (in the real world) by doing either of these?

Oh then, just because you are not facing anyone in person, how fair is it for yourself to share these stories?

I have been doing this mistake as well. I mean, though I have not shared such stories so far as I could remember, I never checked for the authenticity of any such story too.

But with a recent story, I decided to do it anyway though, at the first glance, it made me wonder if it could be true.

Here it is:

I must admit, as I said, that I thought it's true at my first glance. The first thing that made me suspicious is the official seal of the Swiss Bank I found on the image. Well, why would the seal of a most renowned bank in the world be so simple, copy-able and so photoshop-y?

And then I went through the details, one by one, and realized what a fool I had made out of myself. Or worse, I have been doing that almost everyday.

I will come from the header. I have this Swiss Bank's letterhead saved in my lappie with a far better resolution, which was found within a matter of seconds. Here:

The letter is to the Indian Government and is dated to the end of this October.

The letter has mercilessly killed English language all along. I doubt if Swiss Bank doesn't care about the usage of a universal language in its formal communications. That's forgivable, at least in comparison with the following LOL factors.

• The Swiss Bank is requesting the Indian Government to check for the IT returns, business profile and business background (!!?!?!?!) of a late person. If it doesn't get clear details, his account will be 'impede' - so says the story.
• Swiss Bank makes customized communications to the countries? That could be possible, who knows, but does it go as far as mentioning the figures in crores (instead of millions, may be) and the currency in rupees?
• I was somehow curious about the account numbers listed therein. So I went on to learn how Swiss Bank account numbers might look like. There gotta be a format, at least. There is, and it's called an IBAN account number. After going through the legit alphanumeric codes there, the account numbers listed here were a comedy.
• The Swiss Bank is contacting a country asking for the IT returns of the bank's own clients? Sorry, am I missing something?
• Accepted :-( The communication is to the Indian Government asking for the financial details about its citizens. But why the hell would India need an exclusive column with the 'Present Statistics of Swiss Bank Deposits' from six countries (Like top gainers this week - LOL)? That too with a reference - "Source: Swiss Banking Association Report 2011". :-o
• Last and the best: The 'Manager' at Swiss Bank who has allegedly signed this communication has been working as an active journalist at Reuters living between Padova and Geneva. Probably there are a few other Martin de Sa'Pinto-s who don't even have a web presence.

There was not much need to write this post. There is even not much importance to it, may be. But then, let's not look like fools by overlooking those con stories and sharing them. Who knows, some day it may have a far greater effect than we ever thought it would.

It's not just about politics. Not even closer. And it doesn't definitely happen only in Facebook.

How many times have you forwarded an SMS about some blood needed for someone? And how often did you even think if it could be true, though you can't probably check it out. (You'll probably think of me as a prick for this).

Or what about an SMS or e-mail about the medical implications of some silly thing we do everyday? Like sleeping with our mobile phones nearby, or some food habits, or whatsoever.

I'm not saying these things should not be shared. Yes, there are people in need. There are things to be learned and taught.

But, the news and facts as important as these should be shared with authenticity.

Understand that there are also people who will take advantage of any situation, emotion, need or whatsoever for the benefit of themselves or something they believe in.

If you find a story, how confident are you about its authenticity? How easy is it to find the same?

At least,

If you are the owner of the story, put a source or a reference and then share it, for heaven's sake. Now, how hard could that be?

If you are just sharing another story, make a pause, think what if you're being flocked and go ahead checking it's legitimacy or just drop it.

We won't die if we don't share something everyday.