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Vending Machines of Death!
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Dateline: 01/03/01

Dear Guide:

I got this email, and it has local cities and towns listed. Is this a copy of a hoax? Do you have any way of determining if it's true?

The one reason why I think this is probably not true is that Cokes cost at least a loonie (one Canadian dollar) in vending machines. The letter suggests that 50 cents is given in change.

Subject: Worthy of a Look

Better to be safe than sorry:
A little too close to home:

Dear all:
I am forwarding this email about something really scary I heard about today. Because it is certainly worth about, I am sending this out to you....Please read the following anecdote:

On an average day in your life, you are out and decide you are thirsty. You notice a pop machine in your surroundings. You go over to the pop machine, & drop in a loonie. After collecting your beverage, you reach in the little compartment to collect your 50 cents change. Once reaching in, you feel a sharp prick on the finger you inserted into the change box. Your finger is bleeding, you bend down to look inside the small area to see what pricked you. What you see is a small needle, with a note beside it: "YOU NOW HAVE THE H.I.V. VIRUS", it reads.

***This is not some scary fiction story! THIS IS NOW HAPPENING IN ALBERTA!!!...

Please read on and then pass this warning to people you care about. At our student council meeting this afternoon, our advisor (a teacher at the school) told us that last week, she received a phone call from a friend at the University of Lethbridge. THE ABOVE SCENARIO HAPPENED THERE RECENTLY at the U of L) !!! How many it happened to or why not many have heard about it is beyond me, but THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING!!!!!!!!!!! Police suspect that this is the work of a particular cult in western Canada. It (these incidents) began in Saskatchewan and have now spread into Alberta. The prime targets are major cities, but there's no saying that it couldn't occur in smaller towns.

It happened in Lethbridge and they are on the alert especially in Edmonton and Calgary. What happens is that somehow someone inserts a syringe or a needle/pin that has been infected with the HIV virus into a vending machine compartment. Beside it they leave a note saying that whomever has been pricked and is now infected. I KNOW IT SOUNDS CRAZY, BUT TAKING A PEEK INTO ANY COMPARTMENT OF ANY PUBLIC MACHINE (PAY-PHONE,POP MACHINE, VENDING MACHINE)

*** BEFORE STICKING YOUR HAND IN THERE COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE ***

Whether it is where you'd get your change, or where you'd reach in and collect a can of pop or pick up a bag of chips... Be on the look-out for a note or a needle. In order for someone to read the note or get pricked by the needle, they must be in a place where, if they checked first, anyone could see it.

***Don't let yourself become a victim & Please PASS on!!!***


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