Breaking The Hoax Email Chain

Though most Internet users have heard that some e-mail should not be believed, even the most sophisticated users sometimes believe some of the many hoaxes, urban legends, chain letters, and concealed spyware that get passed around through email. Whenever you receive an email from someone you don't know, never open the attachment. It may include a vicious piece of spyware that will automatically install itself onto your computer or even a virus or Trojan horse. No matter how curious and tempted you may be, delete it.

If you are a normal email user, you probably get at least one hoax message per week, forwarded to you by a naïve or gullible friend or relative. Some hoax messages are easy to spot, others are not. Perhaps the most difficult ones to ignore and delete are the chain letters concerning missing children. This form of spam is a problem because it appears to be legitimate and, naturally, one wants to assist in the efforts to help find an abducted child.

However, experts believe that using email to inform the public of an abduction is not effective as there is no way to update or recall a message after it starts being randomly blasted across the Internet to hundreds, then thousands and, maybe, millions of online mailboxes.

In some cases, the child is quickly located but the email takes on a life of its own, spreading around the world via the Internet, and still popping up years later. In other cases, immature individuals create a hoax just for the thrill of getting people excited and anxious, seeing how big a splash they can make as the hoax spreads around the world in days or weeks.

It is also very important that you be aware that oftentimes these spammers and scam artists are simply using chain letters to build their own mailing lists. Each time you forward that hoax on to others, you are putting your email address as well as the addresses of your friends and family out to be collected. This is often why you will notice a huge increase in spam after you forward a hoax email chain letter.

Tech Tip
If an e-mail that you receive says, "Send this to everyone you know" assume it's a hoax and check carefully at hoax sites on the Internet before sending it to anyone. When in doubt, don't send it out!

How To Avoid Being Taken

Research, research and more research. It takes all but two seconds to do some online research. Before you forward an email, do everyone a favor and enter the missing child's name, content subject or the subject line of the email itself into your favorite search engine.
Do not forward these types of emails no matter how important the email claims it is. If it was that important you would have heard about it on the news, radio and other more reliable sources.
Visit the following sites to quickly determine the authenticity of that email.

BreakTheChain.org - Stop Junk Email and Misinformation

Hoaxbusters - Email Hoaxes by Category

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Breaking The Hoax Email Chain

Breaking The Hoax Email Chain

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