Email Hoax's to reply or not to reply?

[Sparrowhawk]

I frequently get emails that I roll my eyes when reading, as soon as I read them I know they are not likely to be true. 2 minutes of my time is about all it usually takes to know that the email is false, and I wonder why others can't take the 2 minutes to search before sending them on to me. Are they all really that gullible?

Usually I will send back a reply that goes something like "looks like this is a hoax, and here are 3 websites I found that call it a hoax (with links)". I like breakthechain, snopes and urbanlegends usually, but it doesn't usually take much to disprove the email.

Lately I have gotten lazy myself, and just delete/ignore the email as often as I respond.

Today I got an email of pictures taken of 2 twin albino deer photographed within 15 minutes drive of my sisters house (in Ontario Canada), I found 3 websites with remarkably similar pictures from Oklahoma, Michigan and Minnesota. I sent her the reply with perhaps too much sarcasm about the likelihood of the pictures being real, and felt guilty almost immediately afterwards for not sending my usual "nice" reply. I'm not sure why I feel guilty though, I would think they should be the guilty ones for forwarding all this junk on.

Just wondering what all of you do with these:
1) Forward them on without thinking twice about it
2) Delete them as soon as you get them
3) Reply to the sender with a link to a website calling it a hoax
4) Reply to the sender asking them not to send any more junk to you
5) Something else?

Curious to hear what my fellow Apolytoner's think of these.

[action=Sparrowhawk][/action]

[Zkribbler]

If you're getting unsolicited e-mails from people you don't know, you can bet the rent money they're either hoaxes or scams.

Do NOT respond. If you do, you verify that yours is an active e-mail address, and more spam will follow.

[Main_Brain]

4)

[-Jrabbit]

I generally just don't reply, but if it's habitual by some contact of mine, I just send a note asking them to stop doing that. If they don't stop, I ask again and tell them I'll have to blacklist them if they don't comply.

I get from 40-100 emails aggregate per day from my various addresses, so I'm not shy about saying (nicely at first) that I don't have time for that crap.

I don't bother disproving them. Waste of time. I prefer to do my time-wasting here.

[Nikolai]

Easy. I open, look, close and forget.

[BeBMan]

Read respond or be restricted

[Verto]

I bounce the emails back.

[Theben]

If I don;t know the sender, it gets deleted.

[Jonny]

Poorly punctuated title: to reply or not to reply?

As for the question at hand: 2. No need to waste any more time on it than is necessary.

[ColdWizard]

I don't give my email address to stupid people.

[Unimatrix11]

Well, yeah of course i dont re-act on them. D´uh! When you find unwanted adds in your mail, to you write a letter to the company, asking them to stop it? Gosh, the sender goes on the spam-list (if that didnt happen automatically anyways, like in 99.9 % of cases) and thats it. Maybe that´s a reason i dont get all that much of them? Seriously, if i ran such a scam, getting these ´please stop trying to scam me´ or ´i politely doubt your motivation...´ replies would probably make up for the missed scam-income by the amusement they´d arouse in me - and i´d make sure, to adress that person again and again, just to test his patience and watch them turn from being polite, sensible, sane persons to maniac distrusting a**h***s. Muhahahaha !

[SlowwHand]

2) Delete them as soon as you get them

I have an aunt that sends many things. I see no reason to be cruel, I just delete them.

[Supr49er]

2) Delete them as soon as you get them

I have an aunt that sends many things. I see no reason to be cruel, I just delete them.

Ditto. Except it's my mom who sends these to me.
If it's a scam she might fall for, I'll debunk it and email her back.

[Darius871]

I often send an offensive response just to get a chuckle out of the spammer's reply, but usually delete. Example:

> Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2009 11:50:44 -0800
> From: kastrup_n@yahoo.com
> Subject: RE: RE: Saying hi, it's Lisa
>
> hi !!!! not to sound like a dork but I am so excited you wrote back I dont have much time to reply since I'm at work and they get pissy if they see us using personal email but I just wanted to let you know I got your message and will write back later. I dont remember if I told you but I am not on myspace anymore, I have this blog page here instead: [removed, NSFW unsurprisingly] it should get you atleast a little updated on me, will write more later! *kiss ~Lisa
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> To: kastrup_n@yahoo.com
> Sent: Sunday, February 15, 2009 11:19:16 AM
> Subject: RE: Saying hi, it's Lisa
>
> So... you are a spambot, right? I don't recall chatting with anyone
> as incredibly butt-ugly as yourself, so that's all I can conclude.
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> > Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2009 10:30:32 -0600
> > From: kastrup_n@yahoo.com
> > Subject: Saying hi, it's Lisa
> >
> > hi its been something like a month since we last spoke but I was
> thinking about you and thought it might be nice to say a hello and see
> how you have been how have things been going? you remember me? hehe
> prolly not huh? we didnt chat for long and it has been awhile. if you
> dont remember me i wont be offended :P and if you still interested in
> meeting up then lets chat! write me back to this email
> >
> > write back soon and take care!
> >
> > Lisa
> >
> > PS I attached a photo of me to jog your memory incase you forgot! I
> remember peoples faces better then email address or names lol

Who actually falls for this crap? Somebody must if it continues to be profitable...

[Ben Kenobi]

My mom's boss who is a dean at the college is famous for sending chain letters.

Seems to be an exercise in psychology.