Making the rounds — again

Two editors ago, I wrote an ongoing column for OBJ called "File 13," in which I took whatever e-mail rubbish was currently making the rounds and explained why it belonged in the bitbucket.

Although that column eventually wound up in its namesake cylindrical container, my colleagues still consult me when something dubious lands in their inboxes.

For example:

> Hey Kristen,
> Is this true? Thanks, ——
>
>>
>> REMINDER.. 10 days from today, all cell phone numbers are being released to
>> telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls....

blah blah blah ...

I find it hard to believe this one is still in circulation.

Snopes.com is such an easy address to remember, I don't even need the bookmark, I just type it. Then I click on Hottest 25 Legends, and there it is, coming in at No. 3 right behind Barack Obama, Cell Phone Directory and Telemarketers."

The e-mail in question is, of course, bogus. The earliest version listed at Snopes dates from 2005, which was way longer than 10 days ago.

Snopes.com. Memorize it. Use it.

>> HELP OTHERS BY PASSING THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS.
>> It takes about 20 seconds...

No. 1 on the Snopes list is the "you have a card from a friend/family member/classmate/friend-of-a-friend" family of e-mails, which really do deliver a really real virus if you click on the link. When you get a real e-greeting card, e.g. from Hallmark, it will have a real person's real name, and the link will really be to hallmark.com, not some incognito IP address.