The 300 Orphans

Reading through Jordan's post today (Link) reminded me of something I'd wanted to post up here awhile ago, and it made me do some digging in my inbox. Luckily, the offending document was still there. I present it to you now, in its entirety. I even include those irritating "forwarded marks" for authenticity.

Aslm, detail kronologi usaha membawa 300 orang yatim piatu daripada
> acheh ke malaysia beserta serba sedikit update drp Acheh.
>
> Assalamu'alaikum wbt.
> Untuk renungan dan kongsi-kongsi bersama.
> Disertakan sms yang saya terima sejak 3 hari yang lalu.
>
> 01/01/2005 05:10PM- Salam. Baru melawat pantai Sigli..Puluhan ribu
> mangsa..
> Mayat di merata tempat.. Ramai anak2 kecil yg yatim.. Sms dari Dr Syed
> Azman.
>
> 02/01/2005 09:19AM- Salam..Suasana di Acheh so bad.. DiDaerah Melabuh
> saja lebih 100,000 hilang..Gegaran terus berlaku tiap hari..Teruskan
> bantuan n doa buat saudara2 kita..Team medical kita nonstop
> bekerja..Sebarkan. Sms dari Dr Syed Azman.
>
> 02/01/2005 11.00AM - Airmata kami sudah kering..Kami ngak bisa nangis
> lagi..Itulah rintihan saudara2 kita di Acheh.. Hulurkan bantuan kita,
> saudara2 semua..Team medic kita selamat alhamdulillah..Sebarkan. Sms
> dari Dr Syed Azman.
>
> 03/01/2005 08:00PM - Pls ask among friends who would like to adopt
> orphans from Acheh. 300 orphans coming soon. Need muslim homes.
> Christian missionaries going for them. Pls help! Pls call Dr Fairuz
> 0122784033.
>
> P/s: Saya dah call Dr Fairuz, dia comfirm sms ini. Siapa yang berminat
> boleh call dia. Dan saya ada bertanya 2-3 pondok pengajian/maahad dan
> mencadangkan agar menerima anak-anak ini dengan cara tajaan by ibubapa
> angkat. Sesiapa yang berminat bolehlah e-mailkan nama dan no. h/phone
> untuk tindakan susulan.
>
> Subject: Sms dari Acheh.
>
> Assalamu'alaikum wbt.
> Lagi sms dari Dr. Syed Azman : Salam..Kita nak bina hospital
> sementara. .Di Acheh amat sad.. Kami bersama mayat dan yg cedera.. We
> cried alot.. Doa untuk kami. SEBARKAN. >From Dr Syed Azman. Sms tamat.
>
> Wassalam.
>
> Sms terbaru 30/12/04 11:41 malam, yang diterima daripada Dr. Syed
> Azman yang mengetuai misi 7 orang doktor membantu mangsa Tsunami di
> Acheh :
> 'Sallam...Bandar Acheh bagaikan padang jarak padang tekukur..Puluhan
> ributerkorban...3/4 kota Acheh musnah.. Mayat bergelimpangan..Doa
> bersama airmata dari kami..Sebarkan berita ini..'. Dr Syed Azman. Sms
> tamat.
>

Now some of you may be wondering why I haven't yet contacted this Dr Fairuz to confirm/deny the email. Truth be told, I was planning to, but I got sidetracked, especially after reading a report in a newspaper that there are several versions of a fraudulent email going around. Jordan's recent encounter with one variant somewhat confirms this. Anyway, if anyone else has any other information on this, please feel free to email it to me, I'll be happy to post it here.

If it's one thing I hate, it's disinformation; especially when it contains an implicit religious threat (refer bold words). When things like this happen, you start to wonder what sort of people gets off on sending fraudulent messages like these, and if they are even now patting themselves on the back for a job well done?

Go figure.