[Next][Index][Thread]

Video speed traps a hoax



                              THE HARTFORD COURANT                      
                              July 28, 1995 Friday 

            VIDEO SPEED TRAPS A HIGH-TECH HOAX, STATE POLICE SAY 

   Video camera speed traps on I-95 Conn. 

   The warning flashed across the Internet, angering on-line users
convinced that the state police had installed Big Brother-like cameras
on the state's highways. 
                                                                                
   The computer message is simply an urban myth -- and an old one at
that. It's the high-tech successor to a hoax that has been passed around
for a decade or more through more conventional means. 

   Only this time, when the rumor scurried through the Internet's gossip
channels, hundreds of people took it at face value. For the past four
weeks, the state police have been deluged with telephone calls from
individual commuters and representatives of large companies. 

   "This is nothing new, but now it's on the Internet. I'm getting calls
from citizens, from businesses who have fleet vehicles and large
corporations," said Sgt. Dale Hourigan, the state police spokesman.
"Within the last four weeks, it's become bothersome." 

   The Internet message apparently first appeared about a month ago in
Usenet News, where users hold discussions on various topics. It was
still a source of conversation on Usenet News this week. 

   The original message said radar and camera equipment would be
permanently installed. Cameras would take a photograph of the speeding
car's license plate and a ticket would be mailed to the owner. It listed
17 locations on major highways. 

   Hourigan himself has gotten about 10 calls a day, including inquiries
from Foxwoods Resort Casino and Pratt & Whitney. Some private citizens
were so convinced the message was true that they didn't believe
Hourigan's disclaimers. 

   "I'll tell them 'no.' And they'll say, 'Are you lying?' " Hourigan
said. 

   Hourigan said state police have no idea who started the Internet
version of the myth. 

   "Their concern should be for the trooper in the rear-view mirror," he
said. "Big Brother is not watching you, but the troopers are." 

   Courtney Connell, of Mindport Internet Services in Norwich, said
police could locate the e-mail address of the person who sent the
Internet message. But, Connell noted, there's no law against spreading
false information. 

   Andrew Kantor, senior editor of Internet World, a Westport-based
magazine, said inexperienced users can be taken in by false on-line
reports. 
                                                                                
   "Veterans know there is a lot of noise on the Net. But a newcomer
will say, 'It's on my screen, it must be true.' It's amazing what people
will believe," Kantor said. 

   One Internet user, who calls himself Squelch, read the rumor about
the cameras and wrote, "Constitutional?" 

   "There are all these cameras that just got installed on I-95 in
Connecticut. If anyone reading this is from the area or has a similar
situation where they live, what the hell is it for? How can they take a
picture of you speeding and know that you are speeding?" he asked. 

   While the Internet can spread myths with unprecedented speed, it can
also discredit such rumors quickly, Kantor said. "There is a discussion
area on the Net dedicated to debunking myths," he said. 

   Hourigan said the state police did not respond on the Internet --
they don't have the technology. Instead, they sent typewritten press
releases over their fax machine. 


Follow-Ups: