How do you handle getting false warning emails?

[kennancat]

I assume everybody's familiar with these - some well-intending co-worker, friend, or relative sends you a dire-sounding email warning you of doom and danger to come if you don't ACT RIGHT NOW and to FORWARD TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS! These are the same emails that can be disproven in about two seconds with a visit to Snopes. Do you let the sender know? If so, how do you phrase it to not offend the original sender? Thanks!

 

[Melissa M]

I just delete it. My step mother sends me these all the time. Most of the time I don't even open her emails.

 

[DVC-Don]

If they send a bunch I reply if they send any more, I'll put their email in my blocked list.

 

[Linzybrooke]

I usually send the forwarder the link to snopes with saying that I checked it out a week ago and found it to be false, then I delete it.

 

[JudicialTyranny]

I send them back a link to the Snopes article so they will realize they've been hoaxed and have made themselves look silly to a bunch of people - and hopefully that will stop them from doing it again.

 

[PeterPanette]

Ugh. I've got a friend who does healing / energy / lightworker stuff, and once in a while she'll send something lovely and enlightening. BUT, nearly every single day she sends some kind of hate-filled, glaringly false political piece of crap. Lots and lots of those "Andy Rooney said....(insert some hateful crotchety rhetoric)", "Dr. Phil said, (insert some hateful crotchety rhetoric)", "George Carlin said---(insert some hateful crotchety rhetoric)"

Also lots of "first person" experiences of someone really telling off a hippie tree hugger about something and the the whole place (wherever it's set - a restaurant - a grocery store line, etc.) bursting into approving applause.

I swear she has turned into Ann Coulter, and it really scares me that she's giving people massages and spiritual advice every day.

But, to answer your question, OP, I used to send snopes links, but now I just allow everyone to believe whatever crap they want to believe and just hit the delete key. No matter how kindly or gently I might try and tell someone that something they sent is a well known lie, I'm worried that it will make me sound like a snooty know-it-all.

 

[Aidensmom]

I just delete. I think most people are aware of snopes.com, some people just feel the need to forward that stuff anyways.

 

[rgf207]

I assume everybody's familiar with these - some well-intending co-worker, friend, or relative sends you a dire-sounding email warning you of doom and danger to come if you don't ACT RIGHT NOW and to FORWARD TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS! These are the same emails that can be disproven in about two seconds with a visit to Snopes. Do you let the sender know? If so, how do you phrase it to not offend the original sender? Thanks!

I have a rule set up that takes all messages that begin with "FW:" and sends them to the
trash folder.

I used to be mean. I wrote a program that I could send out multiple emails per second. I would just copy the message and send 500 copies of that same message back to that person.

 

[Anewman]

I take the offending senders email and add it to junk spam email lists, like gambling sites and alternate lifestyle adult entertainment lists.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

snopes is my friend and I try to tactfully reply to them. Most of my friends are well intentioned--but I hate the spread of false information.

If something is so stupid--I have done a reply all before. I hate to do it..but that is saved for continued e-mailings of crap from the same person.

One person even questioned my use of snopes. Funny that she never verified the accuracy of the information forwarded--she just believed it as it was stated. (It was the famed swiffer kills cats b/c it has the same ingredient as antifreeze. The snopes bit is that that particular ingredient is not the fatal one and that the claims regarding statements on the swiffer packaging aren't even true if you look at the real package).

One on some safety e-mail--e-mailed me back and said "better safe than sorry". (That one was about checking for the notes on your rear window).

It irks me--but some people in the interest of helping their friends do slip into gullible mode.

I do enjoy it when friends send questionable e-mails--and include the snopes link that either says it is true or that it is undertermined or possible but not proven. At least they take the time to check.

 

[Melissa M]

I take the offending senders email and add it to junk spam email lists, like gambling sites and alternate lifestyle adult entertainment lists.

 

[PeterPanette]

I take the offending senders email and add it to junk spam email lists, like gambling sites and alternate lifestyle adult entertainment lists.

I am intriqued by your ideas, sir, and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

 

[Cool-Beans]

Mom and one friend send me these. I just delete them, no response. I used to ask them to never forward me anything, but they just keep sending stupid jokes, warnings, slide shows, etc.

 

[curlybop]

I send them a link to Snopes also. I really hate the ones that no one bothers to clip before sending. You get 2 pages of To: From: a million times over before ever getting to read the message.

 

[disneymom3]

I take the offending senders email and add it to junk spam email lists, like gambling sites and alternate lifestyle adult entertainment lists.

That is awesome. I bow to your revenge plans!!

I used to try the just delete approach but I have a couple of friends who just got to sending them way too often. My new approach is I reply with the link to snopes, state, "This is an urban legend. Please check out snopes.com" and say nothing else. That has gotten them to stop. Maybe not stop sending them, but they have stopped sending them to ME.

 

[Chicago526]

I send them back a link to the Snopes article so they will realize they've been hoaxed and have made themselves look silly to a bunch of people - and hopefully that will stop them from doing it again.

I do the same thing. And it worked in one case. The second time I sent back the Snopes link, I never got another email like it from that person!

Once I sent a Snopes link showing the sender was right about something! But 99.99999% of the time it's a hoax email.

 

[Hedy]

I generally send a Snopes link, esp. if it's my mom forwarding one of her forward-addict friends warnings.
For a lot of the ones I get from my mom's friends, I just ignore, or if it's a truly distasteful one (involing anatomy jokes or sexual references), which I find unacceptable from my godmother, I may make a comment to my mother, which gets passed on.