Hoax Museum Blog: Business/Finance

Fake Sick Days — In a recent survey nearly half of Australian workers admitted to taking fake sick days. I assume this means that the other half were still lying about not taking them.
Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2004.   Comments (1)

How to be an economics expert (even if you know nothing about economics) — Matthew Richardson, a 23-year-old student at St. Peters College in Britain, was asked to travel to Beijing to deliver a series of lectures about economic theory. He was flattered by the invitation, though puzzled since he knew nothing about economics. But undaunted, he packed an economics textbook in his bag and took off to Beijing. It was only after he got there that he figured out that the people in Beijing had probably intended to invite Prof. Matthew Richardson from New York University, who's an expert on financial markets. But the faux Richardson bravely soldiered on, reading from his textbook, and no one seemed to notice that he didn't have a clue what he was talking about. In fact, he got a few compliments on the clarity of his lectures.
Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2004.   Comments (0)

Buy Land on the Sun — There's a scam business that's been in operation for years that offers to sell land on the moon. But a new group is raising the ante by offering to sell you land on the sun! Thankfully, all money they collect goes to aid the American Cancer Society.
Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2004.   Comments (2)

Flatulent Technologies — Flatulent Technologies is a company that is committed to "extracting energy from everything that stinks or rots." Sounds like a great idea. The company's NYSE ticker symbol is even better: FART. Too bad a little disclaimer at the bottom of the company's webpage admits it's a parody.
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2004.   Comments (2)


Fake Sick Days — According to this survey, 33% of workers will fake that they're sick in order to get a day off in January. I'm surprised that the number isn't higher.
Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2004.   Comments (0)

Servonet — You can buy quite a few unusual gifts for Christmas over at Servonet. For instance, check out the Home Freebasing Kit, as well as the Power Fork. Interestingly, when you try to order one of these products instead of being asked to enter your own credit card number, you're allowed to select a number from their customer database. And then you get a message that their "shipping capabilities have been suspended indefinitely."
Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2003.   Comments (0)

Batmobile — batmobile Holy Fake Batmobile! Would-be Batman demands refund.
Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2003.   Comments (0)

Reemco — Reemco: Providers of high-quality products such as the 'CDC Ebola Virus Outbreak Action Playset.'
Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2003.   Comments (0)

Diploma Mill — General Delivery University: America's only genuine diploma mill
Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2003.   Comments (0)

Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2003.   Comments (0)

How to Lie with Statistics — Interesting piece in the NY Post about how government economists can lie with statistics, making economic growth go up and down like a yo-yo.
Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2003.   Comments (1)

Would You Have Invested? — microsoft 1978 Does this photo that's been circulating through email really show the management of Microsoft as they looked back in 1978?
Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2003.   Comments (2)

Win Toilet Paper — Enter the Win-Toilet-Paper sweepstakes, and the toilet-paper delivery man could soon be knocking on your door. I'm not sure if this is for real or not. I don't feel like supplying them with my email address to find out.

Update: Apparently it's real. Strange, but real.
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2003.   Comments (2)

Buy Land on the Moon — Can you buy land on the moon? According to this website you can. It's the home on the internet of the Lunar Embassy, which claims that it is "the only company in the world to possess a legal basis and copyright for the sale of lunar, and other extraterrestrial property within the confines of our solar system." And if you believe that, then I've got a bridge to sell you. Their basis for this claim is that the UN Outer Space Treaty of 1967 forbid governments from owning extraterrestrial property, but it didn't mention anything about individuals or corporations! Ah Ha! Sounds like a clever loophole. Unfortunately this argument doesn't hold water, because individuals and corporations can themselves only claim ownership of land through governments. There's a good article debunking the Buy-Land-On-The-Moon Scheme over at CNN, explaining that it's the creation of con artist/entrepreneur named Dennis Hope. The British National Space Centre also denies it's possible to own land on the moon. And Space.com has a good article about this scam as well. What it all comes down to is that for the $30 bucks you'd pay to buy a plot of land on the moon, you'll gain ownership of a piece of paper, and nothing more.
Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2003.   Comments (1)

The Great See ID Credit Card Hoax — Do you have 'See ID' written on the back of your credit card, or know someone who does? I used to, until I had an unpleasant run-in at the post office because of it. Turns out that the idea that it's safer to write 'See ID' on the back of your credit card rather than sign it is just a weird hoax that's floating around. (I used to have this blurb about my experience at the post office on my LiveJournal account, which has now become defunct. I've moved it over here so that it'll have a more permanent home, and because I keep getting comments from people who have had the same experience).
Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2003.   Comments (22)

Hooty Corp. — Here's another hoax website: Hooty Corp. It's the creation of a visitor to my site (a young one, I suspect). Hooty Corp might be a little unpolished, but it's all the more endearing for being so. I particularly like the Hooty shop where you can buy products such as the Clothes Desmellerizer and a book titled How to Drive a Laidlaw Bus in 12 Simple Steps. You get a nice, subtle message if you click on the 'buy' button to purchase any of these products.
Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2003.   Comments (0)

Eurorest is a scam — A visitor asks if Eurorest is a hoax? Well, if not a hoax, then it's definitely a scam. The premise of Eurorest is that if you agree to send a message promoting their business to seven of your friends (i.e. if you agree to turn yourself into a spammer acting on their behalf), then they'll send you a 'cheque' that you can use to get 14 free days of stay at participating European hotels. But here's where it gets fishy. Sending off the emails doesn't automatically get you a 'cheque.' It only enrolls you in a lottery with the possibility that you'll receive one of these cheques. Who wants to bet that the cheque would never arrive? Plus, when you investigate these cheques more closely, you discover that the stay at the hotels isn't even free. It's only discounted at some of the hotels, while others charge an 'obligatory catering rate.'
Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2003.   Comments (8)

Send Steve a Gift — SendSteveAGift.com is the latest website in which a guy brazenly asks people to send him money, just for the hell of it (his argument: give a buck to change Steve's luck). An anonymous visitor asked me if the site is for real. My response: Of course it is! I'm 100% certain that if you choose to surrender your cash to Steve, he'll take it. But if you're in a mood to part with some money, why not give it to me?
Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2003.   Comments (2)

Fake Sale Prices — I knew retailers did this: marking items on sale, when the sale price is actually the regular price. Now retailer Suzy Shier gets slapped with a fine for doing it.
Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2003.   Comments (0)

Fake Fags — Fake Fags. It's not what you think, unless you're British.
Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2003.   Comments (0)

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