Hoaxes tend to mutate as they make their way around the interwebs. And, often, some helpful prankster will combine two or more previous hoaxes into one and relaunch the newly minted variant on an unsuspecting Internet public.
This ploy often gives old hoaxes a whole new lease on life. They again circulate far and wide, passed on by well-meaning Internet users who may have missed or forgotten about the original versions.
Here the old Christopher and Jessica Davies hacker hoax has been blended with a later hoax that warns users not to accept a virus called ‘The Dance of The Pope’.
The Davies hacker hoax, which has been circulating since at least 2009, makes the false claim that just accepting a friend request from Christopher or Jessica will allow them to take control of your computer. This, of course, is nonsense. In fact, this hoax is just one in a long series of similar and equally spurious “hacker” warnings that have plagued Facebook for a number of years.
And, the claims in the “Dance of the Pope” warning are also untrue. According to the warning, you should not accept a video called ‘The Dance of The Pope’. Supposedly, the video is a very dangerous virus that will format your mobile phone. However, there is no virus or malware threat like the one described. The Dance of The Pope hoax has been circulating since 2015.
Of course, the combined version has no more credibility or worth than the two silly hoaxes it is derived from. If this message comes your way, do not help its spread by sharing. And, let the person who posted it know that the claims in the message are false.
Example:
DO NOT ACCEPT A FRIEND REQUEST FROM A CHRISTOPHER DAVIES AND JESSICA DAVIES THEY ARE HACKERS. TELL EVERY 1 ON YOUR LIST BECAUSE IF SOMEBODY ON YOUR LIST ADDS HIM, HE’LL BE ON YOUR LIST TOO. HE’LL FIGURE OUT UR COMPUTER’S ID AND ADDRESS , SO COPY & PASTE THIS MESSAGE TO EVERYONE EVEN IF U DON’T CARE. Please also Tell all contacts from your list not to accept a video called the “Dance of the Pope”. It is a virus that formats your mobile. Beware it is very dangerous. They announced it today on the radio. Fwd this msg to as many as you can!
References:
Christopher or Jessica Davies Hacker Hoax Warning
‘Dance of The Pope’ Phone Virus Hoax
Original Source : https://www.hoax-slayer.net/christopher-jessica-davies-dancing-pope/