Earlier today, CNN did a report about the “A (Virtual) Card for You” email that has an embedded virus that McAfee says is undetectable, and Microsoft says will totally destroy your computer. Bill Gates and AOL are not paying you $245 to forward an email to everyone you know, and tracking the email such that Microsoft can automatically remit to you at least $24,000, and no lawyer ever verified that this was indeed for real. On a recent “60 Minutes” episode, the commentator Andy Rooney did not present a conservative sounding diatribe lambasting high taxes, gun control, immigration, affirmative action, and other controversial issues. Pepsi is not producing commemorative soft drink cans that have the “Pledge of Allegiance” with the phrase “under God” omitted. These and many others are in current circulation, along with some of the old classics that never seem to die, such as the ubiquitous “Marshall Fields $350 Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe”.

In recent days, I have received a spate of emails citing an alleged 1954 “Popular Mechanics” article predicting what a typical home computer would look like in 50 years. Attached to the email is a photo with the caption” Scientists from RAND Corporation have created this model to illustrate how a "home computer" could look in the year 2004 …” The photo in reality was not from a 1954 magazine, but was from a 2000 exhibit at the Smithsonian, showing a full-scale model of a nuclear submarine's maneuvering room where the ship's engineers control the power, electrical, and steam systems.

One of my students recently forwarded an email to me, along with a lengthy set of endorsements that it was for real, stating that if I forwarded the email to 10 other people, a popup would appear with a printable $50 coupon for Red Lobster. This happens to be one of the most prolific types of urban legends and hoaxes in circulation, with almost word-for-word variations in the coupon or gift certificate, including Best Buy, Applebee’s, Cracker Barrel, Victoria’s Secret, Outback, Nokia, Microsoft, and others.

I have also received many emails that are urban legends which mix a degree of truth with exaggerations and falsehoods. According to the popular and reliable hoax and urban legend website, SNOPES (www.snopes.com), some of the most common emails currently in circulation include the Muslim holiday stamp, the cell phone directory, cough CPR, and many others.

Several well intentioned individuals have sent me an email “Dear Patriotic Fellow Americans”, followed by a chronology of Muslim inspired terrorist attacks on Americans. The email then calls for a boycott of a particular holiday stamp honoring “EID” which is an Arabic word for celebration, often used to signify the end of the holiday Ramadan. This email is currently in wide circulation, and has even been mentioned on local talk radio, despite the fact that the 34 cent stamp was a limited printing released by the Post Office prior to the September 11th attacks. The stamp was one of the “Holiday Celebration Series” stamps issued by the postal service which has honored Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, and other holidays. Contrary to the statements in the email, all proceeds of the stamp went to the USPS, and not to any religious or charitable group.

Did you know that all of the cell phone companies are publishing a public directory with your cell phone numbers that will allow telemarketers to call your cell phone, racking up your expensive minutes? According to a currently circulated email, that is a fact. The truth is somewhat different. Yes, the cell phone companies are creating a “411” type of directory. This directory explicitly will not be published and distributed, and will only include those numbers which the cell phone owner explicitly “opts-in” or approves of inclusion in such a directory. The FTC “Do Not Call” list does apply to cell phone numbers, and cell phone users who doubt the sincerity of their carrier can add their number to the “Do Not Call” list for free at www.donotcall.gov.

Ignore the emails that say that if you are alone and having a heart attack, to perform “cough CPR” on yourself. According to such authorities as the American Red Cross, and the American Heart Association, while there may be some basis in fact (and the efficacy of the procedure is not widely accepted), the procedure requires substantial training in order to be performed properly, and the instructions in the email are woefully inadequate. The group Mended Hearts, which is a legitimate group that some versions of the email attribute as the source, has published denials of their involvement in promoting the procedure.

There are thousands of these hoaxes and legends in circulation. Save yourself some embarrassment and conserve your bandwidth by checking out emails that you receive before forwarding them to everyone.

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