Hoax-Slayer - Tax Scams, Bonsai Kittens and More!

Hoax-Slayer Issue #1

Welcome

Hi, and welcome to the inaugural issue of the Hoax-Slayer newsletter! Thanks so much for subscribing. The newsletter will be published every week on a Monday.

I do hope that you find Hoax-Slayer valuable.

Best wishes, and thanks again for being among my very first subscribers.

Brett Christensen

Tax Refund Phishing Scams Continue Unabated

Below, I have included screenshots of two typical phishing scams that pretend to be from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). While these examples target Australians, variations of the same scam target people in many countries worldwide.

If you click or tap the link, a fraudulent website will open. The site is built to mirror the genuine tax department website. At first glance, you may not see any difference between the fake site and the genuine government websites you usually visit.

The fake site asks you to provide your username and password to log in. If you provide the information, you will likely be taken to an online form asking you to provide detailed personal and financial information.

The login credentials and other information you provide will be sent to online criminals who will use them to access your tax department records and steal your identity.

Some versions may even ask for your credit card details, ostensibly so that a refund can be deposited to the card. Of course, if you provide this information, the scammers will use your card at will and leave you with the bill.

Scam messages like this are distributed via both email and text messages. Many claim that you have an unexpected tax refund and need to visit the site to claim it. Others claim that you have an important message from your tax department that you need to read.

Safest Practise? Don’t Follow Links - Go Direct

It’s safest not to follow links in messages claiming to be from tax agencies or other government departments.

Instead of clicking or tapping, open your browser, go directly to the government website, and log in the way you usually would. You can also log in via the official government phone app if that’s how you usually do it.

If the message is genuine, you will see a notification about it once you have logged in. If not, you can be confident that the message was a scam and ignore it.

There are countless variations of these tax scams, and criminals have distributed them for decades. So, they must still work. Stay alert.

The Infamous Bonsai Kittens Hoax

Few sites in the history of the Internet have spawned more hatred and condemnation than the Bonsai Kittens website.

The site supposedly provided information about creating “bonsai kittens” by cramming cats into glass jars so that they grow to take on the shape of the jar.

The original site, which was first published way back in the year 2000, has long since disappeared. However, a mirror of the site is still available here.

Information on the website noted:

By physically constraining the growth of a developing living thing, it can be directed to take the shape of the vessel that constrains it. Just as a topiary gardener produces bushes that take the forms of animals or any other thing, you no longer need be satisfied with a housepet having the same mundane shape as all other members of its species.

For years, email chain letters condemning the procedure as unconscionably cruel and calling for the site's closure made their way into the world's inboxes. Later, irate social media versions of the protest message began circulating.

The infamous site even drew the attention of the FBI. A 2001 report on Wired.com noted:

FBI agents in the Boston field office have launched an investigation into the site. They also have served MIT with a grand jury subpoena asking for “any and all subscriber information” about the site, which was initially hosted in a campus dormitory but has since moved to a commercial provider. MIT said in a letter to bonsaikitten.com’s pseudonymous webmaster, a graduate student using the alias Dr. Michael Wong Chang, that it will wait until Sunday to turn over records that would identify him by name. “I was surprised,” Chang said. “I really thought that the FBI had better things to do. That’s your tax dollars at work.”

Of course, this widespread condemnation and anger were not surprising. If it were actually real, the act of creating bonsai kittens would constitute criminal cruelty to animals. But, in reality, the website was nothing more than an ill-conceived joke apparently perpetrated by an MIT student.

The techniques described are clearly impossible. Moreover, the site never actually sold equipment used to create bonsai kittens. The apparent ads for bonsai kitten products included on the site were entirely bogus and intended only to further the illusion that the techniques described were real.

An article on the Humane Society of the United States website noted:

The Massachusetts SPCA and the FBI initiated an investigation of the site’s creator, but discovered no evidence of actual animal abuse or the sale of bonsai kitten “products,” though the investigation remains active. If the creator is not e-mailing the obscene materials to an unwilling audience, violating a User’s Agreement, committing the abuse depicted on site, or actually selling products involving animal cruelty, then the site is considered free speech and is protected by the First Amendment.

No overt statements or disclaimers on the Bonsai Kittens website specifically informed visitors that its claims were not intended to be taken seriously. Hence, after visiting the site, many believed that bonsai kittens were being created and were consequently outraged.

However, a closer examination of the site content revealed a number of tongue-in-cheek references that indicated the site was based on falsehoods. For example, the site claimed that those who wish to create bonsai kittens must apply for and receive a “Bonsai Kitticulture” permit from the U.S. government. This claim is clearly nonsense, and no such permit system exists.

In another section, the site claims that young kittens have “springy” bones and will bounce when thrown on the floor. Again, this is obviously total nonsense. A series of nonsensical entries in a fake “Guest Book” included on the site provided further evidence that the site was a hoax. These entries included outlandish “praise” of the site and absurd comments about creating bonsai boyfriends, children and horses.

Although there are photographs of cats on the site, they do not show a “finished” bonsai kitten. Instead, they depict cats in or behind unsealed jars.

The site moved locations several times during its history and was banned by several hosting providers. The domain name used in some versions of the petition emails, www.bonsaikitten.com, now leads to a domain holding page.

Bottom line? At least, in my opinion, there is nothing remotely clever or funny about a website that uses potential animal cruelty as the foundation for its satire, even if no kittens were actually harmed. I’m glad this dumb hoax is now just a footnote in the checkered history of the interwebs.

Examples:

FOR EVERYONE WHO LOVES ANIMALS

There is a Japanese man living in New York that sells “BONSAI CATS”.

The guy puts the kittens in glass bottle then puts a probe in their anus that gets out from a gap in the bottle to dispense their urine and faeces. For the kittens to take the bottle shape, they are fed with chemicals to melt the bones. Then he keeps the cats for as long as they can survive.

They can’t move, walk or clean up.

He calls this “art”.

This cruelty is the last fashion in NYC, China, Indonesia, New Zeland, because is a “decoration pet”. If you want more information take a look in this site : http://www.shorty.com/bonsaikitten/bkmethod.html, and the babies into of a glass bottle in http://www.shorty.com/bonsaikitten/gray.html and http://www.shorty.com/bonsaikitten/bnw.html

We are making a list to sent to Animals Protection Association n USA and Mexico, and to TV news, to stop this.

We call out to anybody that loves cats or just has basic respect for LIFE – please put your name in the end of this list, then forward this e-mail to anyone you can think of.

If in the list you find more than 500 names, please send a copy to [ADDRESS REMOVED]

We are very thankfull to your help and we ask you to send this e-mail.

FOR EVERYONE WHO LOVES ANIMALS!!

This is sick.

A site that we were able to shut last year has returned. We have to try to shut it down again! A Japanese man in New York breeds and sells kittens that are called BONSAI CATS. That would sound cute, if it weren’t kittens that were put in to little bottles after being given a muscle relaxant and then locked up for the rest of their lives. The cats are fed through a straw and have a small tube for their feaces.

The skeleton of the cat will take on the form of the bottle as the kitten grows. The cats never get the opportunity to move. They are used as original and exclusive souvenirs. These are the latest trends in New York, China, Indonesia and New Zealand. If you think you can handle it, view www.bonsaikitten.com and have a look at the methods being used to put these little kittens into bottles.

This petition needs 500 names, so please put your one name on it!!! Copy the text into a new email and put your name on the bottom, then send it to everyone you know. If you notice that there are 500 names on the list, please send it to: [ADDRESS REMOVED] Note- Copy this e-mail, paste it into a new one – DON’T forward it – add your name, and send it to everyone you know!

How to Identify A Government Scam Message in 10 Seconds

Most countries use the domain (web address) “.gov” for official government departments.

For example, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) uses the domain “irs.gov” in the US. In Australia, the ATO uses the domain “ato.gov.au”. UK government departments are accessed via “gov.uk”. India uses “incometax.gov.in”. And so on. Most countries use this system to identify official government entities.

The .gov domain is reserved for official government entities and can't be registered by non-government organisations or ordinary citizens.

If a message supposedly sent by a government entity uses a different domain ending such as “.info”, “.com”. “.co” “.sh” or others, it is highly likely to be a scam.

Fake NFT Offers

If you've ever dabbled in NFTs, watch for fake "You have an offer" emails claiming that someone wants to buy your NFT. These are scams designed to steal your personal information.

Links in these fake emails take you to a scam website that asks you to enter your crypto wallet credentials, ostensibly to view the offer. The information can then be stolen by criminals and used to access your wallet.

Always log into your NFT platform directly rather than clicking an email or text link. If you have really received an offer for an NFT, you will be notified once you login into NFT platform.

Here’s an example that pretends to be from OpenSea. The email was not sent by OpenSea and has no connection to the company.

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