Hoaxes, Myths, and Urban Legends

I think that everyone has gotten about a billion messages that fall into these categories. There is no little girl dying of cancer, there is probably no virus going around, and Bill Gates is not going to send you any of his money. How do you think he got so rich? I find all the junk that is circulating around the internet to be a giant waste of time. It got to the point that I was receiving so much spam that I closed my e-mail account and opened a new one. Now if I do not know the e-mail address of the sender I do not open the e-mail. I do not open forwards unless I am expecting them. If I receive information from someone that I know, I usually still research it anyway. This way I know if it is true, and actually know something about it and can apply and use it.

For students who do not know better, this junk mail can become a problem. Opening it is a waste of time and can cause thousands of unwanted e-mails to be sent. Students should look for the signs discussed on the web sites, such as; threats, promises, winning something you never registered for, or donation requests. Spending a little time with students on this could be rewarding for them and enjoyable at the same time. If everyone was better educated on this subject, the amount of spam and the amount of time wasted on this junk would decrease.