Email News Alerts and Hoaxes - Avoid Passing these on to others

This is an excellent approach to use in handling email:

AVERT LABS - Hoax or Not, Treat It the Same
http://www.avertlabs.com/research/blog/index.php/2009/01/29/hoax-or-not-treat-it-the-same/

QUOTE: Late last year, my sister forwarded to me an email that foretold of great evil and destruction should anyone open an email with a “Happy New Year” greeting for a subject. The email begged us to save the world by forwarding it to everyone we know. She wanted to know if she should believe it.

More recently I got something similar, this one warning that a deadly email will have a subject concerning President Barack Obama’s acceptance speech. This one added an air of authenticity by claiming that a popular hoax-tracking site has verified the details to be true. Hoax or not, I rarely read past the subject line of these types of emails, and I never forward them to others.