Auckland earthquake email hoax debunked by New Zealand media

Internet users in New Zealand have reportedly received emails, spreading a sick hoax that claims an earthquake is predicted to hit the city of Auckland on Sunday, April 17th.

A typical email reads:

Next earthquake announced April 17 will hit Auckland

There is about 88% chance within the next days Auckland will be hit by an earthquake according to National Earthquake Information Center from New Zealand. This news was released today after more predictions related to the Christchurch earthquake. Read more here or on www.nzherald.co.nz

However, the email has been debunked by the NZ Herald newspaper, which has confirmed that it is a hoax.

Received an email claiming an earthquake prediction for Auckland and pointing to our site? It's a hoax: http://t.co/qU7Zq7Z

— nzherald (@nzherald) April 12, 2011

Residents of New Zealand would obviously be highly alarmed by such a warning, as the country is recovering…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the anti-virus industry having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent security analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of computer security, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter at @gcluley, on Mastodon at @[email protected], or drop him an email.