Emails that Cry Wolf

[rockcat]

This morning I received one for the umpteenth time from a well-loved older relative. You know the kind I'm talking about. The ones that spread untruths, many times political in nature, but not always.

I receive these on a regular basis family who I love and respect. I don't want to hurt their feelings. For a long time, I ignored these emails, but it bothered me that rumors were being spread. I decided to reply every once in awhile with a link to a fact checking website and a respectfully written note explaining that the facts did not support the content of their email.

My family doesn't reply to me about this. I spoke to one of them about it, and she admitted that she sends them because they are amusing - whether or not they are true.

Well, this morning I got fed up. I replied to all.

 

[capt_jordi]

I always correct people over stuff like that. It is just spreading ignorance when it comes to the political stuff, and otherwise just getting peoples hopes up, causing problems for organizations (like the one to send a christmas card to an unnamed soldier etc.) and just causing so many false believes getting spread. My family usually doesnt say anything. Most of the time they laugh it off! Although my mom has now started to check Snopes before she sends stuff! So thats an improvement!

I think a lot of people, esp. the older generations, have the "if its on tv it must be true" mentality, and it transfers to the internet....

 

[rockcat]

Originally Posted by capt_jordi

I always correct people over stuff like that. It is just spreading ignorance when it comes to the political stuff, and otherwise just getting peoples hopes up, causing problems for organizations (like the one to send a christmas card to an unnamed soldier etc.) and just causing so many false believes getting spread. My family usually doesnt say anything. Most of the time they laugh it off! Although my mom has now started to check Snopes before she sends stuff! So thats an improvement!

I think a lot of people, esp. the older generations, have the "if its on tv it must be true" mentality, and it transfers to the internet....

Exactly.

I've been tempted to make something up and send it on, like 99 uses for used cat litter.

 

[mrblanche]

I would say 75% of my e-mails are from one guy who seems to forward everything! At least he's an equal-opportunity rumor monger, with his stuff running from sky-is-falling messages about shampoo, to Democrats are selling our souls to the commies, to Republicans are selling our souls to the corporations, to...well, whatever. But I get some really good stuff from him, too, photo montages of nature, etc.

When I catch him with an incorrect story, such as the photo that is supposedly a Smart car crushed between two dump trucks, I reply with a link to the corrections. He's usually good about posting the correction, but the next time it comes around, he sends it out the same as he did the first time.

 

[natalie_ca]

Just tell people to stop sending you forward emails.

An excellent way to put yourself at risk for a virus is to send or receive "forward" emails. Why? Well, let's say that you received an email from someone who had sent it to 20 people. She not only sent the email to 20 people, but she also sent your email address to them too. Now if each of those 20 people clicked "FORWARD" and sent that email off to 20 people each, that means your email was sent off to a whopping 400 strangers all within seconds.

Many people do not delete their sent or deleted emails, which means that emails remain within your email program and on your computer. Also, some have their emails set to add email address from received emails, to their address book automatically.

All it takes is one infected computer in that chain of forwarded emails to be infected. The virus on the infected computer looks to the sent, deleted, draft and address book for email address and "spoofs" an email and sends it out automatically without the person even being aware of it being done.

The result is hundreds of virus infected emails being sent out to all of those people who had their email address included in that one single forwarded email.

I told people to exclude me from their forward list. Those that did not, found themselves blocked in my email rules. I eventually changed my address, and do not give my private email address to anyone who has a history of having sent me forward emails. Anyone I don't know well, or who has sent me out forward emails in the past, are given my hotmail "spam" account. It's my very first hotmail address from 11 years ago, and gets hundreds of spam emails in it.

 

[rockcat]

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

Just tell people to stop sending you forward emails.

An excellent way to put yourself at risk for a virus is to send or receive "forward" emails. Why? Well, let's say that you received an email from someone who had sent it to 20 people. She not only sent the email to 20 people, but she also sent your email address to them too. Now if each of those 20 people clicked "FORWARD" and sent that email off to 20 people each, that means your email was sent off to a whopping 400 strangers all within seconds.

Many people do not delete their sent or deleted emails, which means that emails remain within your email program and on your computer. Also, some have their emails set to add email address from received emails, to their address book automatically.

All it takes is one infected computer in that chain of forwarded emails to be infected. The virus on the infected computer looks to the sent, deleted, draft and address book for email address and "spoofs" an email and sends it out automatically without the person even being aware of it being done.

The result is hundreds of virus infected emails being sent out to all of those people who had their email address included in that one single forwarded email.

I told people to exclude me from their forward list. Those that did not, found themselves blocked in my email rules. I eventually changed my address, and do not give my private email address to anyone who has a history of having sent me forward emails. Anyone I don't know well, or who has sent me out forward emails in the past, are given my hotmail "spam" account. It's my very first hotmail address from 11 years ago, and gets hundreds of spam emails in it.

Getting forwards in general is not what this thread is about. I agree that people should be careful and clean up their emails. That could be "a whole nother thread." I am not going to hurt my family and relative's feelings by asking that thy don't forward me anything. I already took a big enough risk doing that by "replying to all".

I just want them to understand that not everything is worthy of being forwarded.

 

[rockcat]

Originally Posted by mrblanche

I would say 75% of my e-mails are from one guy who seems to forward everything! At least he's an equal-opportunity rumor monger, with his stuff running from sky-is-falling messages about shampoo, to Democrats are selling our souls to the commies, to Republicans are selling our souls to the corporations, to...well, whatever. But I get some really good stuff from him, too, photo montages of nature, etc.

When I catch him with an incorrect story, such as the photo that is supposedly a Smart car crushed between two dump trucks, I reply with a link to the corrections. He's usually good about posting the correction, but the next time it comes around, he sends it out the same as he did the first time.

Ut oh. I think I know him.

 

[emrldsky]

You know, I've done that and they stopped forwarding things, lol. The only person who doesn't is my mom, but I just ignore anything with FW: in the subject line from her.

The last time I sent a correction, I was really nice about. "Hey! How have you been? Btw, I just wanted to let you know in case you were really worried, that this isn't true. Here, check this site out." And my cousin was very thankful that I did that, and sent the correction out.

Not everyone is like that and often, you get those people who just continue to do it. I don't think they really READ them all the time either.

 

[misty8723]

Originally Posted by Rockcat

Exactly.

I've been tempted to make something up and send it on, like 99 uses for used cat litter.

I admit that I did make something up once. Well, I didn't make it up, but I put together something with quotes and stuff and made it look like these fear mongering emails, but one that was telling the truth. I just got fed up with all the lies. I've tried mailing back with links, and I have enlightened a few people, but there are some who are never going to chance.

Usually I just delete those emails.

 

[trouts mom]

Oh yes. My mom just got online recently and she believes and forwards everything she gets.

I have seen it all a hundred times too

 

[cococat]

I don't have enough energy to correct people's forwards. I just don't care.

 

[rockcat]

Well, no one has responded to my reply, but I did get an email (not a forward) from a cousin who I haven't seen in a long time.

I see a lot of us are in the same boat here.

 

[margecat]

I do the same thing. I got tired of mis-information being spread. I mean, how hard is it to document anything you send? I certainly hope the same folks wouldn't spread "information" about someone else via word of mouth! Maybe they think.since it's email, it's true?

I would always be suspicious, and verify the emails. They usually were wrong, so I'd reply to all, and ask them to check, for example, snopes.com. It got so bad, my friends sometimes email me the stuff FIRST, so I can check for them, or send the email to all, with the note, "Yes, I checked snopes, and it's legit!".

However, I had read somewhere that, in the past few years, snopes had gotten caught deliberately twisting the truth to suit their political views (with the political queries secition of their site), so I tend not to use them to verify political queries.