Parents warned not to fall for urban legend about Gerber

Tuesday, Feb. 10, 1998 | 10:28 a.m.

An urban legend that has caused young parents nationwide to inundate Gerber Products Co. with copies of their children's birth certificates in hopes of receiving free $500 savings bonds is circulating in Nevada.

Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa says her office is receiving numerous inquiries concerning the rumor that there is a cash settlement offer for children born between 1985 and 1997 stemming from a lawsuit against the giant baby food manufacturer.

There is no such settlement being offered, the company says.

This urban legend, like many, is being fueled by chat rooms and news groups on the Internet, officials say.

An urban legend is a story that is told over and over until it is assumed by many to be true, but often has little or no factual basis.

One of the most popular Las Vegas urban legends is that of Strip prostitutes who drug male tourists then harvest their kidneys as part of a major organ-stealing ring. Metro Police and other authorities for years have denied that such crimes have been committed here.

The Gerber story also is gaining popularity locally.

The story is that Gerber was sued for falsely claiming its products were "all natural," when in fact they contain preservatives. Gerber is said to have settled the class-action suit by agreeing to award $500 saving bonds to the parents of children 12 and younger.

According to the legend, all parents have to do is send copies of their children's birth certificates and Social Security cards to a post office box in Minneapolis, Minn., or to post office boxes in a growing number of other states.

Authorities say don't do it because there was no such case and no such award.

The rumor stems from a lawsuit where Abbott Laboratories was alleged to have engaged in baby formula price-fixing from 1980 to 1992. The company agreed to pay $5-$45 rebates to settle that matter.

The Gerber settlement hoax concerns authorities because it can be used by scam artists to gain vital information that can later be used to victimize people.

"I want to caution all parents not to release birth records or other personal information about their children unless they know that information is going to a legitimate source," Del Papa said.

Last year, Gerber's headquarters in Fremont, Mich., received hundreds of copies of children's Social Security cards and birth certificates that were sent directly to them instead of the bogus addresses.

Gerber is using the Internet to try to dispel the urban legend. A warning is posted on its website (www.gerber.com).

Following are other popular Las Vegas urban legends:

* DAM BODIES: Stories have been told that three Hoover Dam workers fell into cement and are entombed in the dam. While 96 men were killed building the architectural wonder, none of them died that way.

* ELEVATOR TALE: A story has long circulated that a black entertainer and his dog got on a Strip hotel elevator occupied by a woman who did not recognize him. The man yelled at the excited dog: "Get down, Lady!" The woman, fearing she was about to be mugged, screamed and hit the deck. Not true.

* FAKE ROY: Over the years, many reporters have checked out rumors that Roy of the popular Siegfried & Roy magician duo died several years ago in Europe and was secretly replaced by an imposter -- his cousin. The story has long been debunked.

* MATTRESS CORPSE: A couple is said to have checked into a Las Vegas hotel room and smelled a terrible odor. They were shocked to find a decomposing body of a prostitute inside a mattress. Sometimes the story is that the body is simply under the bed. In either case, it never happened.