Urban Legends E-mail from Co-workers

[Lexophile]

This is the funniest thread I've seen in a long time.

My mom went way overboard with these, but she's hypersensitive, so I finally sent her the link to Snopes with an email that read, "I was a little concerned when I read your email because I use those plug-in air fresheners in my house and I didn't want them to cause a problem. I wanted to learn more about it, so I googled the subject and I found this site. Thank goodness I can still use them without worrying about my house catching on fire!"

I had to compose a few of these, but she eventually got the hint and started checking them herself.

BTW - I don't even use the plug-in fresheners, but I'm two states away, so she never would have known.

[MineralDiva]

I tried giving the link to Snopes, to no avail.  So now I just delete it and move on.  It's frustrating.

[DragonYoga]

I usually just scan the UL/hoax/scam emails and respond accordingly. If it's yet another ho-hum, run of the mill type UL, I'll delete it happily.  If it's something that *sounds* like it's true - like oh, lead in lipstick causing cancer, I'll respond and say "Y'know... This is bull. Chill!"  I actually got one one time, I don't remember what, but it was targeted at women in general and basically wanted to scare women. I emailed the woman who sent me that email, and I told her it was just a hoax. She emailed me back saying, "Yeah I know I just got another email that says it's a hoax..."

If I get a scam email - you know those Nigerian rich stiffs, they want you to help secure the account of ohh, a bazillion dollars type emails?  I'm probably very rude but I usually respond with, "Thank you for sending me yet another classic scam email. Not *all* Americans are as stupid as you think we are. Have a good day!"    ...I haven't gotten ANY emails of this type in a long time for some reason. 

I actually got one where they were very, very specific: They were targeting Deaf Americans.  Some rich deaf kid in the UK's parents had just died, and they wanted someone to go up there and take care of this kid, and the carer would get paid a very hefty fee for doing this.  I emailed back with my sincerest apologies, but made it clear I knew it was a scam.  Never got anything else like it either.

[opqdan]

I usually just scan the UL/hoax/scam emails and respond accordingly. If it's yet another ho-hum, run of the mill type UL, I'll delete it happily.  If it's something that *sounds* like it's true - like oh, lead in lipstick causing cancer, I'll respond and say "Y'know... This is bull. Chill!"  I actually got one one time, I don't remember what, but it was targeted at women in general and basically wanted to scare women. I emailed the woman who sent me that email, and I told her it was just a hoax. She emailed me back saying, "Yeah I know I just got another email that says it's a hoax..."

If I get a scam email - you know those Nigerian rich stiffs, they want you to help secure the account of ohh, a bazillion dollars type emails?  I'm probably very rude but I usually respond with, "Thank you for sending me yet another classic scam email. Not *all* Americans are as stupid as you think we are. Have a good day!"    ...I haven't gotten ANY emails of this type in a long time for some reason. 

I actually got one where they were very, very specific: They were targeting Deaf Americans.  Some rich deaf kid in the UK's parents had just died, and they wanted someone to go up there and take care of this kid, and the carer would get paid a very hefty fee for doing this.  I emailed back with my sincerest apologies, but made it clear I knew it was a scam.  Never got anything else like it either.

Emailing will only let them know that the address is actually being monitored, and a better target.

In reality though, they probably send out thousands upon thousands of mails.  I doubt that when you respond, that your address goes into a special "good address" category, but it might be a good way of ensuring more mail in the future.

If you do not know the sender, just don't respond.  No good will come of it, and there could possibly be some bad.

If I do know the sender, I will respond with a link to Snopes.  This normally stops the emails after a few times, but I suspect that it is only because I am removed from the list rather than that they stop sending them.  The sending of urban legends is something that makes people feel good, and they are unlikely to stop, even if they are shown to be false.

[ZAP1251]

I check the story on snopes and then I reply to all wether it is true or not.  If it is not true I ask the originator to please check before forwarding similar emails to me.

[clairesmom77]

DragonYoga,
Those Nigerian scams are getting really bad, aren't they?  We recently sold some hot electronics on e-Bay and got targeted *twice* by those darned scammers.  One guy actually won one of our auctions, then sent a phishing e-mail that looked EXACTLY like the PayPal e-mails saying that funds had been transferred.  Some of the scams are really dumb (the black money one where you have to buy the "cleaner" to clean the money, then voila, you're a millionaire), but those e-Bay ones could really dupe people.  The only thing that tipped us off was that we actually checked our PayPal account and saw no money there.  Then the guy sends an e-mail wanting us to ship to Nigeria.  Ummmm, no.  Another e-Bayer e-mailed to say she lost some very expensive items to the scammers.
e-Bay sent us an e-mail warning us that a scammer won our auction . . 8 days after the auction ended.
There was a news story on 20/20 or some other investigative news show about the scammers.  It's amazing how many people fall for their scams.

[amiboo]

As most of you I reply with the link to snopes.com in hopes that they'll start checking these things out themselves before forwarding them all around to everyone they know. 

I wanted to comment on one I just got a couple days ago about how you should cough if you feel a heart attacks coming on.  I've seen it before a few years ago and now it's back.  It's especially dangerous because there's a kernal of truth in it but mostly because coughing during some cardiac events can actually kill you.   

I replied with the link and a message that following the instructions on the email could actually kill someone.  I hope she listens!

[Musicwoman]

One aquaintance used to send me dozens of the things.  I finally snapped when she sent an Australianised version of the "drugged in a bar by attractive member of the opposite sex, wakes up in a bath of ice to find kidneys stolen" chestnut.

The e-mail claimed that there had been several victims spread across 3 states, so NO ONE IS SAFE!!!  I e-mailed her back and pointed out what this claim meant.  It meant the health authorities and state police of three states, not to mention the Federal Police of Australia, knew all about this horrendous crime.  In order to alert the public and appeal for information to solve these atrocities, did they flood the reputable media channels with press releases?  Did they appear on television, radio and in the print media?  No, they had a far more reliable method of alerting potential victims to their hideous danger!

They started an e-mail chain letter.  Yep, that'll do it.

Ditto for the one about how bottled water bottles should not be refilled with tap water, because THE PLASTIC BREAKS DOWN AND LEACHES CANCER CAUSING CHEMICALS INTO THE TAP WATER AND YOU WILL DIE!!!!!!!!!!

Only into the tap water?  Why don't these chemicals leach into the original spring water?  Is it magic water?  Is it magic plastic, which only breaks down when it detects plebian tap water?  Or am I paying $2.20 for 600ml of designer water laden with carcinogens?  Don't the purveyors of a food item have more sense than to package their product in a container that leaches carcinogens? (now there's a lawsuit waiting to happen!!)

Or maybe these stories are just bull and should be deleted forthwith.       

[POF]

Our company takes corrective action with employees who forward around joke EMAILS / urban legends etc. An employee forwarded an urban legend that was ugly in tone against a certain nationality. We work in a large very diverse hospital system. Unfortunately this person sent this out to everyone on the global exchange. They were fired. Employees need to be very careful about these kinds of things. Even responding with the SNOPES links can get us into hot water .......

[kherbert05]

Our company takes corrective action with employees who forward around joke EMAILS / urban legends etc. An employee forwarded an urban legend that was ugly in tone against a certain nationality. We work in a large very diverse hospital system. Unfortunately this person sent this out to everyone on the global exchange. They were fired. Employees need to be very careful about these kinds of things. Even responding with the SNOPES links can get us into hot water .......

[/size]

In your case, I would just delete or send a reply removing the quotes and saying please don't send these to me. Part of my job is to train teachers and staff, so for me it is appropriate for me to send out reminders not to use school email for this stuff.

[Romes7329]

So, I'm reading this thread, and I'm happily thinking "Gee, I haven't got any of these in a really long time!" 

I just checked my personal email, and my uncle sent me that Bill Gates one about if you send this email out to everyone you know, you'll get a million dollars.  I sent him the snopes link.

I got home last night, and my grandfather told me to call this 1-888 number becuase my cell phone was going to be distributed.  I printed out the page on snopes about this, and he didn't get it.  I don't think he read it completely. 

So, there I was laughing at all of you for these silly things...and I get hit with two of them!  karma's a Female Dog!

[HogwartsAlum]

So, I'm reading this thread, and I'm happily thinking "Gee, I haven't got any of these in a really long time!" 

I just checked my personal email, and my uncle sent me that Bill Gates one about if you send this email out to everyone you know, you'll get a million dollars.  I sent him the snopes link.

I got home last night, and my grandfather told me to call this 1-888 number becuase my cell phone was going to be distributed.  I printed out the page on snopes about this, and he didn't get it.  I don't think he read it completely. 

So, there I was laughing at all of you for these silly things...and I get hit with two of them!  karma's a Female Dog!

I just got one two minutes ago about the "needle under the gas pump handle" and responded with the Snopes link.