Mom, I love you, but....

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

quit sending me all these hoax e-mails about the latest ways gangs are robbing people already!

I got in my e-mail the other day a warning, forwarded to me by my mom, supposedly from the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department, warning me that if I should ever see a fake baby in a car seat by the side of the road, I shouldn't stop to check on it, because robbers lurking nearby will stick me up. Also, if I were a female, they might also drag me someplace secluded and rape and beat me.

And also it seems like the no-goodniks will chuck eggs at your windshield, and using your windshield washer and wipers to clean them off will cut your vision by 92.5% somehow. So you'll have to pull over to clean up the mess, and that's when the robbers get you.

Of course, both these stories are a load of dookie. The places where these things happen supposedly change, but there's no record of them ever having happened.

I'm really tempted to send this e-mail back to my mom with a note saying "This is complete crap; please don't send me these ever again." Because every time she gets one of these passed on to her, she passes it on to me without checking into it.

[Flying Grype]

I send back links to snopes.com when I get those.

[r2cagle]

I recently received an email that explained these types of emails were actually email trackers. The list of emails was sent back to the host server. The point was that it wasn't about whether the email was a hoax or not.. it was about getting it forwarded to get all those new email addresses. The best way to stop them is to quit forwarding the emails.

[blas]

Irv, did you get the one about the newest and coolest ways people are bombing everyone's mailboxes and yards?

I can't remember how it went, it's a new type of homemade bomb and I'm not sure what sets it off, but my bf's mother is going ga-ga reminding my bf and I not to touch magazines or newspapers lying around people's yards, because they are BOMBS!

Yeah....and this e-mail his mother got, the story came from New York.

[bean]

Irv, did you get the one about the newest and coolest ways people are bombing everyone's mailboxes and yards?

I can't remember how it went, it's a new type of homemade bomb and I'm not sure what sets it off, but my bf's mother is going ga-ga reminding my bf and I not to touch magazines or newspapers lying around people's yards, because they are BOMBS!

Yeah....and this e-mail his mother got, the story came from New York.

I got that one a few days ago, except it's bombs in mailboxes. My mailbox has a key, thankyouverymuch, and only the mailman and myself can open it.

Mom loves to forward me all this political propaganda - especially if it's endorsed by F*x News. We've had more than 1 falling out over that.

[blas]

I'm trying to remember if it was in the mailboxes or if they detonated if you touched the newspaper or magazine laying on the ground.

[phantasy]

And also it seems like the no-goodniks will chuck eggs at your windshield, and using your windshield washer and wipers to clean them off will cut your vision by 92.5% somehow. So you'll have to pull over to clean up the mess, and that's when the robbers get you.

Actually, here in Peru, they really do something like that.

They stand on an overpass at night with something heavy, like a piece of metal or something tied to a string, and dangle it in front of the car they want to get. When said piece of metal strikes the cars' windshield, the driver pulls over, gets out and does whatever, either tries to find what hit his car, or checks the damage, etc. When he gets out of the car, someone else just jumps in and drives away.

It works especially well in Peru where people drive so fast that if something does strike your windshield, even if said something is completely stationary, your car will still have a decent amount of damage.

...Buuut I definately wouldn't send it en mass to my entire email contact list lol.

[Cazzi]

I send back links to snopes.com when I get those.

me too

I do thing one relative is getting very forgetful though, EVERY year they forward the "Planet Mars is going to be as close to the Earth as it ever gets this year" email.

At this rate it won't be long before Mars crashes into the Earth

[Geek King]

I'm really tempted to send this e-mail back to my mom with a note saying "This is complete crap; please don't send me these ever again." Because every time she gets one of these passed on to her, she passes it on to me without checking into it.

Why not? I did.


Actually I called her, but same diff. With great Internet access comes great resposibility.

[KellyHabersham]

I used to be in touch with someone on MySpace (the guy has since deleted his profile) who would always post that sort of thing in bulletins, and it took several tactful references to snopes.com before he finally seemed to get the hint.

[Gravekeeper]

I realise I am a terrible person but I finished that sentence with "-I'm not in love with you.". And yes I've taken call that'll back that one up too, so don't think there isn't case studies. >.>

In my family it's my Aunt and cousin that do this. My mom loathes it. She doesn't email anyone unless she actually has something to say to them. My cousin also forwards all those god damn chains, "cute photo" emails and stupid feel good stories about how wonderful God is.

Drives me nuts. Especially since she never actually emails me anything with real words in it. I haven't talked to her in years. She just emails me shit other people email her. -.-

[tollbaby]

My mom is notorious for sending these out to all and sundry. She got wise to me though and started BCC'ing her entire distribution list, because I was sending back snopes links to everyone she had sent it to. So now I can only inform HER that it's a load of bull puckey and she's not embarrassed in front of her friends (unless, y'know, they're smart enough to check snopes too).

[Exaspera]

Don't forget about the sticky Post-It on the back window.....

[AriGriffin]

When Mom was working at the prison, the state sent out a letter to all of the prisons that the gang initation featuring the bloody baby doll in a car seat by the side of the road had happened. The letter also told about gang members staking an injured dog by the road and hurting the people that got out of their cars to help.

I told her it was fake, but she kept insisting that it was real because the state DOC told their employees about it.

[Sonoma]

I've been known to send the link to snopes.com too. I think it may have been successful the last time - haven't been warned about the kidney-robbers in some time.