The G virus warning is just one of many hoaxes circulating in email. This one threatens to send your password to "every computer system in the world" if you don't forward the warning to 25 other people within 48 hours. Judging from the multiple instances of > at the beginning of each line, the copy I received had obviously been forwarded dozens of times. This begs a perhaps unanswerable question: Why do so many people believe these types of email?
Fear undoubtedly plays a part. Afraid the warning might be true, the recipient will forward the email if he or she has some misgivings -- also known as the "just in case" syndrome. Inexperience also plays a part. For instance, with the G virus admonishment, an experienced internet user would know there is no reliable way to determine whether a message was sent.
So how can even an inexperienced or apprehensive internet user tell when an alleged virus is a hoax? Here are some tell-tale signs.
ALL CAPS. If the majority of the email is written in all caps, it can almost certainly be ignored. Legitimate warnings will be written in a technical manner and will not be presented in all capital letters.Instructions to forward the message. Urging recipients to forward the email to everyone (or any number of people) in their address book is another red flag. A real virus alert typically won't contain this kind of instruction.
"Worst ever" type language. Legitimate warnings may include a severity indicator. For instance, the virus may be rated a high risk. However, jargon describing the virus as being "the worst ever" or the "worst threat on the Internet" won't be included.
Evidence of repeated forwarding. A series of greater-than signs at the beginning of each line indicate that an email has been forwarded many times. Any warning message with a lot of ">>>>>" should be considered suspect. Legitimate virus warnings are almost never heavily forwarded.
Dire language. Legitimate warnings are presented factually with little fanfare, and they'll include ample technical descriptions of the virus with little sense of urgency. Hoaxes, on the other hand, almost always include scare tactics such as "WARNING!" (Notice the all caps?)
The Hoax Encyclopedia contains listings and descriptions of common virus hoaxes Consult it first, and if you're still tempted to forward something "just in case," be sure to read my article about toxic excuses before you do.