The problem with hoax emails, disaster-if-you-don't-forward emails, and fake crime trend emails is the same problem the entire Internet faces: We think if we see it in print then it has to be true. One of the hardest things for us to remember with the internet is that anything can be put in print, and it doesn't have to have anything to do with the Truth.
We hope that capitalistic market forces will keep most site owners honest, but this does not apply to emails. I do not know why people create and send hoax emails. But, because emails are not subject to traditional market forces(*), they can circle the virtual world a dozen times without ever once hitting the truth.
It doesn't matter who you got the email from, or where their son, daughter, niece, nephew, or third cousin twice removed works, don't believe it until you get collaborating evidence. Our favorite email-hoax-checking site is Snopes.com. (Be prepared. This site puts up pop-up ads - it's how they pay the bills.) Lol, Snopes is so good that email hoaxsters now feel compelled to add "Checked out by Snopes" at the bottom of their emails. I once got an email hoax that even gave the link to the page on Snopes that disproved the hoax! The hoaxster gambled that most people wouldn't actually click on the link and read the report.
Don't be one of those people the pranksters gamble on! BEFORE YOU EVER FORWARD ON AN ALARMING EMAIL, do yourself a favor and check it out yourself. Go to Snopes.com, copy a portion of the email text (or the subject line) and put it in the "search" box on Snopes' homepage. It's fast and easy.
When you find out it's a hoax, please let the person who sent you the email know. DO NOT "reply to all". That's embarrassing - don't do that to your well-meaning friend. Everybody else on the recipient list should do the same thing you did and look it up themselves.
One caveat - there are lots of email hoaxes out there that warn against opening attachments. Though the story in the hoax email is usually made up, it is an excellent tip to never open attachments on emails when you don't know what it is or who it's from. More on that here.
(*) - There are market forces that drive spam, but it is not the traditional honesty-is-the-best-policy market forces. It is "black market" forces that drive spam. Spam is illegal, but when the purveyors are selling illegal products to begin with - porn, blackmarket parmacedicals, name brand fakes, bogus college degrees, etc. - then of course they aren't going to follow the law or worry about a good reputation.
