Don’t mess around with injured kids, scamster
Who is Avi Ben Stella, and why does he want to infect your computer with malware?
When it comes to the welfare of children, there is literally nothing I prize more highly. I am a father, and my children are the most important thing in the world to me. That’s why I find it infuriating that the whole Avi Ben Stella car crash call to prayer is burning up the World Wide Web. Not only does it appear to be a hoax – creating a fictional child who has suffered grievous injury and making attempts to manipulate our emotions into feeling worry for the boy – but the scheme may even be an effort to infect your computer with malware. I haven’t tested that (and I’ll deal with prayer in a moment). A writer for the Examiner claims he followed threads until he found the hand behind the curtain, and I’m not sure what kind of credibility the Examiner actually has. As much as the news and insight you know and love from Personal Money Store? I can’t say. We know debt survival and easy cash loans… I’ll leave the “noble tradition” or journalism to those with a greater interest or faith in the purity of that endeavor.
Your serving of Avi Ben Stella car crash mischief
This is a viral story, and as such you may choose to guffaw at the earliest opportunity. There’s nothing cool about it and it is rightly a waste of your time, and yet you are drawn to it like a moth to the flame. Here’s how you may have been sucked in to this offensive time-waster:
- You received an E-mail, Facebook request, Tweet, etc.
- This message requests that you change your status message for one hour, in order to offer up prayers for 12-year-old Avi Ben Stella.
- Why? Because he’s been in a car accident and is in a coma… supposedly.
What is this, some kind of joke?
Yes, and the joke is on you. Snopes, a Web site that attempts to prove or disprove various urban legends and myths online and off, remains undecided on the matter of the Avi Ben Stella car crash, but the evidence points toward “debunked.” Here’s the original message as it was relayed to them:
PRAYERS NEEDED for 12 yr old Avi Ben Stella who, after a serious car crash, is now in a critical coma. Pls. change your status for 1 hr so more people can become aware and add to the prayers. We would do it for your son, pls. do this for somebody else’s son. Thank you.
Snopes indicates this all started in mid-August 2009. There have been no news stories to corroborate this, and if a 12-year-old were in a coma following a car crash, it’s a safe bet at least a local media outlet would have caught wind of it.
Drink your bitter Bierce
As I’ve said, the Examiner claims its readers followed the online paper trail and supposedly directed to a site that attempted to install malware. While that doesn’t kill this case with 100 percent certainty, how much evidence do you really need to figure this one out? There is no Avi Ben Stella car crash and there is no coma; that seems most likely. As I imagine you aren’t a fan of infecting your computer with malware or viruses, I’d say it’s a good thing not to play along with this little call to prayer.
Apply Now!Oh, a parting word on prayer. Peace of mind has a definite connection to wellness of body. But take a look at extensive studies like those conducted by the Templeton Foundation and see how science and religion do not necessarily correlate. Then consider what American editorialist, journalist, short-story writer, fabulist and satirist Ambrose Bierce had to say about prayer: “to ask that the laws of the universe be nullified on behalf of a single petitioner, admittedly unworthy.” Of course, people used to call him “Bitter Bierce,” but maybe he was onto something.
Hey… having money in the bank also brings peace of mind. On that note, easy cash loans are available here!
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The attempt to obtain sympathy through false claims and manipulation is absolutely wrong. The sad thing is there are actually young children out there that are going through some real-life challenges and here we have these petty do-nothings crying wolf on the internet. I don’t get why people would go through all that just to infect your computer. It’s a complete waste of time and effort.