How to spot an Email Hoax!!

[gajendra]

Spotting the latest email hoaxes may be easier than you think!

There are thousands of email hoaxes moving around the internet at any given time.Some are latest while others may be mutated versions of hoax messages that are being spread on the internet for years. These email hoaxes cover a range of subject matter, including:
*Fake free giveaways in exchange for forwarding emails.
*Fake virus alerts.
*Fake appeals to help sick children.
*Meaningless petitions that lead nowhere and accomplish nothing.
*Surprising and completely fictional warnings about products, companies, government policies or upcoming events.

The good news is that, with a little bit of knowledge, email hoaxes are easy to detect. Hidden within the colourful prose of your average email hoax often lurk telling indicators of the email's veracity.

The most obvious of these indicators is a line such as "Send this email to everyone in your address book". Fake email writers want their material to spread as far and as fast as possible on the internet. So almost every fake email will in some way force you to send it to other people. Some email hoaxes take a more targeted approach and suggest that you send the email to a specified number of people in order to collect a prize.

Another indicator is that fake emails tend not to provide checkable references to back up their spurious claims. Genuine competitions, promotions, giveaways or charity drives will usually provide a link to a company website or publication. Real virus warnings are likely to include a link to a reputable virus information website. Emails containing Government or company policy information are likely to include references to checkable sources such as news articles, websites or other publications. However these fake emails do not contain any valid references to back them up.

A third indicator is often the language that is used in the mail itself. Fake email writers have a tendency to use an emotive, "over-the-top" style of writing with words and phrases such as "Urgent", "Danger", "worst ever virus!!", "sign now before it's too late" etc. often rendered in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS for added emphasis and attention. Paragraphs dripping with pity speaks of dying children; others "shout" with almost joyous excitement about free air travel or mobile phones. As well, some email hoax try to add credibility by using highly technical language that is beyond a normal person's understanding.

Before ever forwarding a doubtful email, ask yourself these questions:
*Does the email ask you to send it to a lot of other people?
*Does the email fail to provide confirmation sources?
*Is the language used overly emotive or highly technical?

A "yes" answer to even a single or more of the above questions, should start some alarm bells ringing in your head. These indicators do not conclude that the email is a hoax but they are certainly enough to warrant further investigation before you hit the "Forward" Button.


source:hoax-slayer