March 15, 2011 – As a consequence of the Japan nuclear power plant reactor accidents, rumor mongers and hoax message senders are having a great time. The latest one is a purported text message / email from BBC, warning about radioactive rain in Asia. The reader is warned not to venture out in rain as the Japanese nuclear plant radiation leaks have apparently spread outside Japan and are spreading to the rest of Asia alongwith rain. The statement is false, says the BBC and deny that they ever published or said anything like this.
Here is the link to the BBC statement.
Additionally the statement also includes a release from the US-CERT (Computer Emergency Readiness Team) which tells computer users to be wary of potential e-mail scams, as well as fake anti-virus and phishing attacks regarding the Japan earthquake and the tsunami disasters.
So if you have got such a message on your cellphone or got it via email, you can breathe easy for now as it is supposed to be fake. This message seems to have caused quite a flutter in the Philippines, where the government has now issued an official denial regarding any such event.
Conclusion: Rumors spread faster than tsunamis and radiation!