It may not be spam, but some messages are just as bothersome. And some may
inadvertently contribute to the spread of spam.
Pass This On. Many
emails prompt you to pass this message on to other people. Superstition
set aside, doing so can provide spammers with long lists of real email
addresses. If you have to pass on a message, do everyone the courtesy of
deleting their email addresses from the message.
Additionally, some of these messages are just
hoaxes. Over 10 years ago, a message was circulated that a young boy, Craig
Shergold, was dying of terminal brain cancer. His dying wish was to get into
the Guinness Book of World Records for receiving the most cards. In 1990, the
first year of the effort, Craig received some 16 million cards. Craig has since
went through a successful operation to remove the tumor and is now a grown man.
Unfortunately, he’s still being inundated by cards. Even worse, somewhere along
the line the Make-A-Wish foundation was roped into the story, despite having
nothing to do with the effort. They have lost countless man hours to this
effort and have even set up a special 800 number and a website to try and stop
these cards.
While you may have altruistic intentions, always
greet these messages with skepticism. Research them first, and, once you’ve
verified their validity, act as you see fit. There are many efforts that are
worthwhile and need help. There are some that should be ignored. Here are a few
web sites that can help you determine the validity of these messages:
http://www.nonprofit.net/hoax/
http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org.
http://thefolklorist.com
Phishing. Pronounced
“fishing”, these emails are blatant attempts to get your bank account
information. Clicking on the links proves that the email address the
message was sent to—yours—is real and will cause you to receive more spam.
But that’s not all. If you do go to their website and provide the
requested information, you’re setting yourself up for identity theft. Your
bank or Credit Card Company will never ask you to “verify” your account
numbers. They already know what they are! If you do receive a message like
this, delete it. If you’re concerned that it may have actually come from
your bank or Credit Card Company-who will usually rely on registered mail
for important correspondence-call the bank first. Before you provide any
verification, verify that the message is legitimate.