LAPD warning exposed as Internet hoax; alert retracted

It seemed like an official enough, foreboding warning, one in which police warned West Valley residents of a possible terrorist threat.

In the end, though, some officers at LAPD's West Valley Division were just the latest to fall for an 8-year-old Internet hoax that is apparently still alive and well.

An email sent to subscribers of the station's notification service and posted to its Nixle website Friday warned of a possible terrorist threat after $32,000 worth of United Parcel Service uniforms were supposedly bought on eBay in the last month.

The message includes a U.S. Department of Homeland Security signature and warns residents to be aware of bogus deliverymen wearing the uniforms who could drop off packages to anyone "with deadly consequences."

Make sure the UPS worker is driving a company vehicle, and ask for valid ID, the warning states.

But the email is an urban myth that has been circulating on the Internet since early 2003, likely born of Sept. 11 fears. And it's one that's been widely debunked by the FBI, UPS, eBay and even Homeland Security itself.

"This urban legend, and a variation with a Department of Homeland Security signature block, are all equally untrue," reads a statement on Homeland Security's webpage dedicated to identifying hoaxes and urban legends involving the agency.

It was unclear how many people the notice

was sent to, but West Valley station officials later retracted the warning, acknowledging that it was an Internet myth. They issued an apology more than an hour later after several people called the station questioning the authenticity of the information.

But they also took the opportunity to point out that the warning wasn't all bad.

"However, the advice is good in that you should always verify the delivery service has arrived with their own company vehicle," reads the notice. "Our deepest APOLOGIZES (sic) from the LAPD WVY Area !!!"

The warning was sent to West Valley residents after another duped state law enforcement agency - unidentified in the notice - passed along the information, according to the message.

Officials at the station did not return calls for comment.

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