With the popularity of the Internet has come the popularity of the Internet or e-mail hoax. Some hoaxes are harmless but annoying, while others can even be dangerous. These hoaxes are very convincing and often very believable, so how can you protect yourself and your family? Read this article to learn more.
What is an e-mail hoax?
An e-mail hoax is a message that you get, usually forwarded by someone you know. It can also be called a urban legend. The purpose of the hoax can be to sucker you in to believing that something is true. Sometimes, the goal of a hoax is to get money from you; sometimes it is to play a practical joke on someone; but most of the time, the hoaxers just get glee from knowing that many people have fallen for their hoax.
Why do e-mail hoaxes work?
E-mail hoaxes work well because they prey on our fears, such as getting cancer from using a deodorant. They also tend to have a moral lesson as part of the message. Remember the urban legend about businessmen getting their kidneys stolen in hotel rooms? The lesson here was if you play around with a strange woman, you will get burned, or in this case, lightened of your kidneys.
Sometimes hoaxes both trigger our fears and our sympathies. One recurring theme in e-mail hoaxes has to do with missing children. Often, photos are included in the message that contains a heartbreaking plea for help from a mother. Probably 99.9 percent of the time these messages are false. Sometimes they started out as true but are actually several years old and still circulating long after the child was found.
E-mail hoaxes are also convincing because they often state something like, “This is true! It was forwarded by a friend of mine.” As nice people ourselves, we generally take people and statements like this at face value, so we believe it.
Next up: How to protect yourself from e-mail hoaxes. Check back to the Computing Blog soon.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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