Here are some FAQs about e-mail hoaxes and chain letters!

• What the heck is a FAQ anyway?
  FAQ stands for Frequently Asked Questions.

• What is an e-mail Hoax?
  An e-mail hoax is some type of story, usually heart wrenching or some type of dire warning that just isn't true.

• Where do these hoaxes come from?
  Some are "leftovers" from times gone by when the letter may have been true or partially true and many are simply made up by people who don't have enough to do!

• How can I recognize a hoax or chain letter?
  The majority of these are easily recognized. They've been forwarded over and over. That is a BIG clue!

• What's wrong with simply forwarding a hoax on down the line? After all, someone forwarded it to me!
  There are so MANY things going on in the world that invite our prayers and our concern.
  Hoaxes and chain letters divert our attention and sap our energy and time that should be used where it's really needed.

  Also, a hoax is a lie. It's not true. If you forward a hoax, YOU are sending a lie and helping keep it alive!!

• OK, I have received an e-mail that I think might be a hoax, how can I tell for sure?
  There are many sites on the internet just for de-bunking hoaxes and chain letters.
  We've listed several good ones below. You can also search the internet for references to the possible hoax message.
  Look for some key words in the message such as the full name of the person or place or event the hoax is about.
  Go to a good search engine such as google.com and type in your key words and hit search.
  Often you will quickly find sites that tell about the hoax and many explain why it's not true.

• Remember, if you forward a hoax,
  YOU ARE HELPING KEEP THE LIE ALIVE!!
  Most hoaxes are obvious, they contain some heart wrenching message or some dire warning and they want you to forward them to "everyone you know".
  Let that be your red flag to stop and think and check it out BEFORE you send it on.

• Here are some web links to good hoax debunking sites
  

Truth or Fiction dot com The name says it all.

On the Edge" with David Galloway
David Galloway is a content supervisor and columnist for HoustonChronicle.com
His stories debunk many hoaxes and chain letters and confirm the validity of a few others!

Vmyths dot com "The truth about computer virus myths and hoaxes". http://www.Vmyths.com/

Real virus information and antivirus software. http://www.sophos.com/

Symantec HOAXES list. It's a LONG list! Look here before forwarding that latest email warning!!http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html

HoaxBusters!
US Department of Energy Computer Incident Advisory Capability Information on virus hoaxes as well as chain letters. http://HoaxBusters.ciac.org/

Symantec Anti Virus Research Center
The Nortons antivirus folks have both real virus information and hoax virus information. http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/index.html

McAfee Associates Antivirus software and information on real viruses, hoaxes, jokes and trojans. http://vil.nai.com/villib/alpha.asp

Datafellows makers of F-secure and F-protect also have information on new virus hoaxes and false alerts. http://www.Europe.Datafellows.com/news/hoax.htm

Dr. Solomons Virus Central Page at http://www.drsolomons.com/vircen/index.cfm

The Urban Legends Web Site has lots of stuff typically found in chain letters.
"send this to everyone you know--NOT" check it out here first! http://www.urbanlegends.com

Click here for questions or updates to our list.

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