Burn Victim, Alexandra of Poland E-Mail a Hoax!

I mentioned in my previous blog that my detective mind could not put this matter to rest. Well, I did some digging on the Net and found an interesting website http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_ola_kuczma.htm that talks about E-mail hoaxes and chain letters.

The Alexandra E-mail is a hoax based on a real life tragedy and has been around since 2005.

There was really a house fire in June 2005 in southern Poland that destroyed the home of Peter and Anna Kuczma that left their 14-month-old daughter, Aleksandra ("Alexandra" or "Olenka" or "Ola") Kuczma seriously burned and fighting for her life in a hospital burn ward.

There was media coverage about this incident, please refer to http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_ola_kuczma.htm for more information. Unfortunately some of the articles are in Polish. According to David Emery of Urban Ledgends and Folklore, Ola is on the road to recovery but will require more surgery, and her parents have requested help from the public to meet the medical expenses.

If the story is true, why is it a hoax? According to David Emery, the E-mail is a hoax because of the false claim that for every time it is forwarded, Ola Kuczma's parents will receive 3 cents. He says that it is impossible, as the technology does not exist to do this type of thing.

This is not the only E-mail that is doing the rounds. So next time you receive one of these E-mails, don't feel bad when you click "delete". If you are unsure, just do a search on the Net or visit the site in this article.

That raises another question. What kind of person would start such an E-mail? Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Love & Light

Victoria