Friday, November 18, 2011

Facebook Hoax Claims to Support Wounded Soldiers

This comes from techlicious.com.

"Internet security company, Sophos, is reporting that a popular post making its way through Facebook that purports to support wounded soldiers is, in fact, a hoax. The text of the post is a variation of the following:

"When filling out your Christmas cards this year, take ONE CARD and SEND it to this address: A Recovering American Soldier, c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 6900 Georgia Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20307-5001. If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these soldiers could get to bring up their spirits! Feel free to repost. This is a wonderful thing to do !!"

While the heart of the post seems to be in the right place, those cards will never reach an American soldier. Hoax-busting site Snopes.com reports that the U.S. Mail will not deliver any letters or packages addressed to "Any soldier" or "Any wounded soldier" at Walter Reed, for the safety and well-being of patients and staff.

Instead, the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center asks that all holiday mail for unnamed service members through the American Red Cross's Holiday Mail for Heroes, at this address:

Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

Cards must be postmarked no later than Friday, December 9th in order to be screened and delivered in tie for the holidays.

If you're concerned about Internet scams and hoaxes, be sure to read our Internet Safety & Security articles on Techlicious.

Suzanne Kantra
Founder, Techlicious"

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