Truth About Computer Security Hysteria

Make Money Fast virus

Chain letters started circulating in October 1996 about a new MMF virus. The first warnings came from a man named Lance Clarke, who claimed computers would contract the virus if a user read a Usenet message where the phrase "MAKE MONEY FAST" appears in the subject line.

Clarke admits he concocted the warning message as a hoax. He used the Good Times hoax virus alert (see related link) as the foundation for his own warning.

Clarke apparently got the idea from another person on Usenet's alt.folklore.urban newsgroup who jokingly said "I'm thinking about spreading the Good Times newbie-gooser around with a new title: 'The MAKE MONEY FAST Virus.' " Indeed, the ancestry of this idea goes back even farther to an April Fool's message posted in 1995.

People who monitor Usenet newsgroups must constantly weed through "spam" postings which claim you can make money fast. "I figure the majority of the MMF spammers are the 'new kids' that don't know the grief they're causing" to Usenet users, Clarke said in a private email to Vmyths.com editor Rob Rosenberger.

On the other hand," Clarke continued, "nothing seems to curtail the spams." So he decided to try "a harmless attempt at breaking the chain" of get-rich-quick messages on UseNet.

Last updated: 2000/10/2