There are websites that can be used to check the veracity of emails that might seem to be chain letters, or virus hoaxes, or other hoaxes, or those that offer good fortune with the suggestion that if you forward the email "you will receive... [insert benefit of choice]"
A good indication that the email content is utter nonsense is the very fact that you are asked to "forward this to everyone you know" or "forward this to all your contacts."
It is best not to forward emails labelled "important" "useful" "live-saving" "fascinating" "awesome" "unbelievable" "must see" "pass this on" or similar, without checking with these websites first:
To find out if an email is genuine or a hoax:
Sophos Hoax listing
Truth-or-Fiction
About Urban Legends
Snopes Urban Legends Reference
How to handle chain letters and virus warnings
Break Chain Emails
McAfee
Symantec Hoaxes
And, if you cannot resist it, and decide that you simply must forward an email, joke, pretty picture, live-saving advice, etc. at the very least please, please, please use "Blind Copies" and remove any previous 'forwarded' email addresses. That way, you won't share and publicise all the correspondents' email addresses with a huge list of people they don't know. Ultimately that's one way email addresses get into the hands of spammers. With a Blind Copy, each recipient only sees their own email address.
Also, while you're editing the forwarded email, please remove all those ridiculous corporate disclaimer notices that are attached in sequence at the end, and remove any spurious ISP-added advertising junk, too, like those Incredimail graphics, and the extra 'smiley' offers.
One problem in overcoming this problem is that it's so easy to just forward the email, but it takes a bit of effort to investigate. But if you think this advice is worthwhile, even if you don't investigate the email, it might at least dissuade you from bothering to forward junk "just in case it's real;" so that's a good result!
To find out if an email is genuine or a hoax:
Sophos Hoax listing
Truth-or-Fiction
About Urban Legends
Snopes Urban Legends Reference
How to handle chain letters and virus warnings
Break Chain Emails
McAfee
Symantec Hoaxes
And, if you cannot resist it, and decide that you simply must forward an email, joke, pretty picture, live-saving advice, etc. at the very least please, please, please use "Blind Copies" and remove any previous 'forwarded' email addresses. That way, you won't share and publicise all the correspondents' email addresses with a huge list of people they don't know. Ultimately that's one way email addresses get into the hands of spammers. With a Blind Copy, each recipient only sees their own email address.
Also, while you're editing the forwarded email, please remove all those ridiculous corporate disclaimer notices that are attached in sequence at the end, and remove any spurious ISP-added advertising junk, too, like those Incredimail graphics, and the extra 'smiley' offers.
One problem in overcoming this problem is that it's so easy to just forward the email, but it takes a bit of effort to investigate. But if you think this advice is worthwhile, even if you don't investigate the email, it might at least dissuade you from bothering to forward junk "just in case it's real;" so that's a good result!
This advice is is meant to be helpful, not patronising - despite what people think when I send this sort of advice in an email. All I am doing is trying to help people reduce the amount of junk email that floods our inboxes.
Only believe virus warnings from trusted sources.
When it comes to accurate, informed advice about viruses, your friends and relatives are probably not a "trusted source." And they are definitely not to be trusted on the subject if they have just sent you one of these junk emails without checking it with any of the resources shown above.
Yes, I know people send this stuff on in good faith - "I was only trying to help" - and they even say things like "it's better to receive 25 of these warning emails than to receive a virus." No it isn't. You should make other arrangements to protect yourself against viruses and not rely on spurious advice that arrives "out of the blue."
The point of this rant is that you should not forward "useful" or "lucky" or "compassionate" or "life-saving" or "virus warnings" without checking it's true.
Only believe virus warnings from trusted sources.
When it comes to accurate, informed advice about viruses, your friends and relatives are probably not a "trusted source." And they are definitely not to be trusted on the subject if they have just sent you one of these junk emails without checking it with any of the resources shown above.
Yes, I know people send this stuff on in good faith - "I was only trying to help" - and they even say things like "it's better to receive 25 of these warning emails than to receive a virus." No it isn't. You should make other arrangements to protect yourself against viruses and not rely on spurious advice that arrives "out of the blue."
The point of this rant is that you should not forward "useful" or "lucky" or "compassionate" or "life-saving" or "virus warnings" without checking it's true.
You check.
Personally.
Yourself.
Do not rely on the fact that the message contains the exaltation that it was "checked with Snopes" or "Microsoft say this is the worst virus ever" because those claims are demonstrably not true.
Everyone should check these things out themselves, regardless of the source before they think of forwarding them. Or just delete them.
I do follow my own advice on all such emails but, because so many people don't, these messages circulate for years. One I received in November 2008 first surfaced in 2002.
Can you begin to imagine how much time has been wasted by all the people re-forwarding just one message? If everyone sent to only 10 people (and many send to more) in 6 iterations, that junk has gone to 10 million people. If they all spend 5 minutes forwarding it, that's more than nine and a half man years wasted for one email!
And there are hundreds of these stupid emails.
So I'm just trying to reduce the massive time wastage.
So I'm just trying to reduce the massive time wastage.
And if you feel chastised or patronised along the way, so be it.
And if you expected that "some good luck will befall you if you pass it it on..." think on...
I did what you told me...
I sent the email to 10 people, like you said.
I'm still waiting for that miracle to happen...
And if you expected that "some good luck will befall you if you pass it it on..." think on...
I did what you told me...
I sent the email to 10 people, like you said.
I'm still waiting for that miracle to happen...
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