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"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" Hacker Hoax

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Posted by: Edward
June 21, 2007, 02:00 AM

Rumors have been floating around the internet today concerning a ‘hacker’ obtaining a digital copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows from a Bloomsbury computer and posting the alleged ending on the web. Reuters is reporting this evening that a Bloomsbury spokesperson ‘declined comment on the hacker’s claims,’ while Kyle Good, a spokesperson for US publishers Scholastic, is warning readers ‘to be skeptical about anything on the Web that claims to have inside information on the book’s plot’ saying:

“There is a whole lot of junk flying around,” she said. “Consider this one more theory.”

It is highly unlikely that any documents containing information as well protected as the seventh Harry Potter book would be on a Bloomsbury computer and as Trend Micro, a computer security company, spokesman David Perry was noted as saying:

“We’ve had hypes like this on the last couple of Harry Potter books… There is a very high level of spurious information in the hacker world.”

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141 Comments

Mrs. Lovegood

YIKES! This is the kind of post that makes me want to turn off my computer and not turn it on again till after July 26 or whenever I’ve finished reading the book (I won’t get it done in 12 hours like those of you who are still young).

I trust Leaky, though I’ve scrolled through the comments without reading just in case. I don’t want to know. Even if it’s not true, I don’t want to know because it just might be true and I DON’T WANT TO BE SPOILED!

:::::sigh::::: people can be so evil!

Posted by Mrs. Lovegood on June 21, 2007, 03:52 AM report to moderator
skinnyfish

I took this as a grain of salt right from the beginning, but even so, I cannot deny there are feelings of uneasiness… (even though this is obviously a hoax, I still refuse to read it…)

Posted by skinnyfish on June 21, 2007, 03:54 AM report to moderator
David

I was actually planning on doing a one-month hiatus before DH came out, and then this happened! Very convenient, so I’ll be signing off now. I’ll miss you all, and happy non-spoilage! See you at the release parties. _

Posted by David on June 21, 2007, 03:57 AM report to moderator
Anonym

Hmm, I read it. My answer is: JKR congrates Snape to his birthday. For everybody who will read it: keep that in mind.

Posted by Anonym on June 21, 2007, 04:00 AM report to moderator
onmassave

oh my. i am definitely hiding from a lot of sites. i don’t visit any site but leaky for harry potter updates. paranoid? yes!

But how silly all of this is. Seriously, hacking into one computer and supposedly finding a digital copy of HP and Deathly Hallows? What can be accomplished by doing this? No official site is going to reveal any info. gathered, people are still going to buy the book, and no one is going to believe you…silly person

Posted by onmassave on June 21, 2007, 04:03 AM report to moderator
Martini

Wow. I seriously doubt that is legit! But even if it is, it wont be the end of the world for me. I knew the ending of Half Blood Prince and that is still my favorite book! SO i am hopeing that is fake, for the sake of….everyone! lol. But i am a Potter fan through and through! :-)

Posted by Martini on June 21, 2007, 04:04 AM report to moderator
nirjhar

Even if this were true, why would anyone want to read those spoilers and ruin the joy of reading a new Harry Potter Book come July 21?

Never in a million years, would I consider reading this ‘hacked’ copy. July 21 is a special day. Why would I ruin this? Why would anyone? :(

Just a thought….

Posted by nirjhar on June 21, 2007, 04:07 AM report to moderator
jayjay

Go ahead. Read it. Once you do you’ll realise it is complete bs. “Gabriel” cannot even spell the simplest of words. I highly doubt his ability to hack open a bag of chips let alone Bloomsbury servers. And all in the name of Catholicism? hahahaha completely laughable I assure you. It reveals nothing than what you may have speculated about already. So calm down, and have yourself a good laugh at this moron. I bet Jo’s having a good chuckle right now.

Posted by jayjay on June 21, 2007, 04:11 AM report to moderator
naria

Wait, I’m confused. I went to the website and found absolutely nothing concerning Harry Potter…

Posted by naria on June 21, 2007, 04:15 AM report to moderator
jfrancis04

I gave in and read it as well…completely laughable. The grammar, punctuation, and spelling are terrible. From what we have seen on the covers, the hoax doesn’t sound accurate at all. Still…I can’t say that I’m not a tad worried. I’m going to have to stay off the internet for a month.

Posted by jfrancis04 on June 21, 2007, 04:16 AM report to moderator
Jennie

Quite curious as to why Bloomsbury declines to comment on it. The title for this article is a little misleading, TLC. Nobody knows if it’s a hoax or not.

Posted by Jennie on June 21, 2007, 04:17 AM report to moderator
whitney

I agree with jayjay. The “spoiler” is absolute crap and I don’t think it ruins anything. In fact, I thought it was highly entertaining. The fact that it was supposedly done in the name of Catholicism makes it even better. Rowling is protecting Hallows from people just like Gabriel and I’m sure appropriate measures have been taken to ensure its safety.

Posted by whitney on June 21, 2007, 04:24 AM report to moderator
naria

Never mind. I found it, and it’s not worth reading. I don’t know why Bloomsbury doesn’t say “This guy’s a fool who has never read Harry Potter” at once.

Posted by naria on June 21, 2007, 04:26 AM report to moderator
Kendra

This stuff just makes me mad. Someone told me a kinda-spoiler today. I think they were full of it, but I am really naive about everything that is going on right now. Are there any credible spoilers out there at this point? I really belive that what they told me was bs, but I went off on them anyway. Will someone please tell me its okay and the spoiler was most likely untrue because I’m really upset right now/

Posted by Kendra on June 21, 2007, 04:34 AM report to moderator
Amanda from California

A friend sent the questioned file to me a few days ago, that he saw on a torrent site. I was highly skeptical, and asked him to send it to me, and I read it, and recognized it a little bit. But a quick Google search told me that the story was ‘The Seventh Horcrux’ by Melindaleo. I remember when I read it for the first time a few months ago, I was like “THIS COULD BE BOOK 7!”

Obviously, it wasn’t. It was just a really good fanfic.

Have some more faith in the security surrounding the book. Hackers just want to be badass and pretend they have the new book.

Love, Amanda

Posted by Amanda from California on June 21, 2007, 04:35 AM report to moderator
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