Urgent blood needed for a baby - Hoax message

We have been receiving a few hoax messages regularly (atleast once in a month). Messages like We have found Gold in a palace, we’ll give it to you at half rate", "You have won lottery", "I have something to share with you, please contact through email", "Urgent blood needed for a baby" etc.

One such message is

"Plz plz forward this msg urgengtlyy.. Atleast to 10 frndz a baby need AB NEGATIVE BLOOD  immediately..

Contact

7036325803

9666914994

9542025814

9972669722

Dont delete...  Ur small sms will save a child"

We forward such messages to our friends immediately without second thought because its for a noble cause. Since I’m associated with a few good hearted groups who regularly donate blood with the help of the voluntary blood donors, before forwarding such messages we always have the habit of calling the phone number and check if there is a real need for blood. Because some times those messages are rumours or may be the need for the blood would have already been met. Calling these numbers and checking would save the unnecessary time that would have been wasted in forwarding the messages and the travel time of the donors.

When I got the above message for the first time a couple of months back, I tried calling the phone number and it was switched off. I have been getting the same message more than thrice in the last two months and whenever I tried that number, its switched off. The operator says “The vodafone number is switched off”. So it’s very clear that its a hoax message and it wastes the time of each and everyone who reads the message and forward the message. Had I forwarded the same message to hundreds and thousands of my contacts, I would have wasted their time as well.

So with this post I would like to request you all to call the contact numbers when you get such messages and confirm the real need before forwarding the message to your bulk contacts or groups. I also understand that at times we are real busy and we don’t have time to cross check it and hence we just like that forward the message to our friends, so that atleast someone helps the needy. This is with good intention, I agree. However when we have little time, then we can try to cross check. Small amount of time spent by us will save large amount of time of others, when we find the cumulative saving of time.