Make money now!
Send this email to 10 people in the next 5 days...!
Boycott X!
Did you know you can die from soap scum?
Be terrified. Be warned! Be afraid! Be happy! Spread the good word!
Share with your friends!
Tell everyone you know!

Excuse me, before we get too carried away here, STOP!

If you get email from anyone, including friends or relatives, that promotes get rich, forward this email, or offers some terror or warning, STOP. Take a moment and breath. This is not the end of the world. In fact, the email itself might be more horrible than the warning or information included. These are all part of the unrecognized SPAM (unwanted email) spreading across the Internet like a plague. They are part of the rumor mills, chain letters, and hoaxes that litter the Internet and email inboxes around the world. Before you click the forward button, check out the information to see if it is real first. And stop the spread of online litter.

EXAMPLE:

Emails claiming to be from Visa, MasterCard and other popular credit cards and financial institutions want you to visit "their website" to stop from losing your credit privileges or to inform you that there has been fraudulent use of your credit card. If you respond, it asks you to confirm your personal information including your credit card data.

Signing up with the "National Do Not Email Registry" will stop spam and unwanted email. [Currently, there is no such registry and never has been]

An email from PayPal asking you to enter your credit card inforamtion. DON'T. If you have an account with PayPal, they already have that information.

A man is suing CBS, Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake for an on-air incident involving the exposure of one of Ms. Jackson's breasts. Steve Bosell of Corona, California has filed a lawsuit claiming that the incident left him physically ill, induced vomiting, psychologically scarred his children and has ruined sexual relations with his wife.

All of these are completely fake, hoaxes, rumors and lies! Honestly, before you hit the foward button, check it out. You can search the Internet for the keywords found within the email, but start more aggressively with one or more of the websites listed below that specifically deal with the rumor mills and hoaxes going around the Internet. And trust me, they repeat on a regular basis. We keep seeing the same hoax going around warning you to search your computer for a specific file and delete it because it is a virus, when the file is actually part of your operating system and you just screw up your computer all by yourself without the help of an email virus.

Be warned and don't trust even the most helpful of friends and family - check first!