Warning out vs Facebook heart transplant hoax

A computer security firm has warned users of social networking site Facebook against a hoax seeking 100 Facebook “shares" to help a boy get a heart transplant. Sophos said the hoax involves fooling Facebook users into thinking sharing the picture of a sick boy in intensive care can help him get a much-needed transplant. “Of course, the message is nonsense - and simply clogs up Facebook users’ walls and newsfeeds. Think about it - is it really likely that a child will be given a heart transplant simply because enough people like a photograph on Facebook?" it said. It said one version of the hoax claimed that if the boy gets 100 shares, “he can get his heart transplant for free." A second version of the hoax seeks “at least 10,000 shares," and that “(m)ore than likes, sharing can help!" But Sophos noted the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Whitefield in Bangalore, India – whose phone number is indicated in the second version of the hoax - gives free medical assistance, “and does not base surgery upon anything related to Facebook." “If a friend of yours shares a message with you like this on Facebook, remind them about the importance of not spreading chain letters and suggest that they inform all of their friends that they were mistaken," it said. — TJD, GMA News