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A hoax is an act, document or artifact intended to deceive or defraud the public. Examples range from relatively benign instances of trickery, such as April Fools pranks, to scientific fraud on a grand scale, such as the Piltdown Man hoax of the early 20th century. The word hoax dates from the 1700s and is believed to be a contraction of hocus — as in hocus pocus, the centuries-old nonsense phrase used by stage magicians (along with abracadabra) to invoke "magic spells." The advent of the Internet has provided an unprecedented platform for the perpetrators of hoaxes by placing inexpensive, easy-to-use self-publishing tools at everyone's disposal. Email hoaxes in particular spread false information from person to person with astonishing rapidity by encouraging recipients to forward ersatz documents, chain letter-style, to everyone they know. Web hoaxes consist of bogus Websites designed to fool users into believing they are visiting legitimate home pages which in fact present false or misleading information. Regardless of the specific form it may take, what distinguishes any hoax from mere error or folklore is that it is deliberately deceptive.

How To Spot an Email Hoax

Here's How:

1. Note whether the text you've received was actually written by the person who sent it. Did anyone sign their name to it? If not, be skeptical.
2. Look for the telltale phrase, 'Forward this to everyone you know!' The more urgent the plea, the more suspect the message.
3. Look for statements like 'This is NOT a hoax' or 'This is NOT an urban legend.' They typically mean the opposite of what they say.
4. Watch for overly emphatic language, as well as frequent use of UPPERCASE LETTERS and multiple exclamation points!!!!!!!
5. If the text seems aimed more at persuading than informing the reader, be suspicious. Like propagandists, hoaxers are more interested in pushing people's emotional buttons than communicating accurate information.
6. If the message purports to impart extremely important information that you've never heard of before or read elsewhere in legitimate venues, be very suspicious.
7. Read carefully and think critically about what the message says, looking for logical inconsistencies, violations of common sense and blatantly false claims.
8. Look for subtle or not-so-subtle jokes — indications that the author is pulling your leg.
9. Check for references to outside sources of information. Hoaxes don't typically cite verifiable evidence, nor link to Websites with corroborating information.
10. . Check to see if the message has been debunked by Websites that debunk urban legends and Internet hoaxes (see below).
11. . Research any factual claims in the text to see if there is published evidence to support them. If you find none, odds are you've been the recipient of an email hoax.

Tips:

1. Virtually any email chain letter you receive (i.e., any message forwarded multiple times before it got to you) is more likely to be false than true. You should automatically be skeptical of chain letters.
2. Hoaxers usually try every means available to make their lies believable -- e.g., mimicking a journalistic style, attributing the text to a 'legitimate' source, or implying that powerful corporate or government interests have tried to keep the information from you.
3. Be especially wary of health-related rumors. Most importantly, never act on 'medical information' forwarded from unknown sources without first verifying its accuracy with a doctor or other reliable source.