I recently saw this PSA on a friend’s blog -
The first thing I thought of was, “What if my PIN is a palindrome?” Turns out, other people thought of this case, too. The tip is fake.
I don’t understand why people would make up fake announcements like this. I remember all sorts of scares that I’ve had passed to me, especially by older, less tech-savvy folks who don’t know better. In fact, I bookmarked Snopes for my mom to check all the random shit she gets from family, friends, and co-workers. My aunt would often send me stuff and ask me to fact-check.
What is the point of making up fake helpful tips? Either you are scaring people needlessly about bad things that will not happen, or risking people’s lives by getting them to believe in good things that will not happen.
Anyway, long story short, Snopes is your friend. Use it before you pass on ANYTHING you see online.