On the Internet, A Sea of Suckers

P.T. Barnum is often quoted as having said, "There's a sucker born every minute."

Turns out there's no evidence that Barnum ever made such a declaration. Interesting, isn't it, that one of the most famous quotes about the gullibility of people is falsely attributed to Barnum?

Still, the quote holds true. In this Internet era, there really are as many suckers as there are megabytes.

Take for example, a very annoying e-mail making the rounds. The subject line says, "PLEEEEEASE REEEEEAD! IT WAS ON GOOD MORNING AMERICA TODAY SHOW."

The "it" the e-mail is referring to is a story that Microsoft and AOL are running a tracking test and if you forward the e-mail, you could get $245 for every person you send it to. The e-mail goes on to claim, "For every person that you sent it to that forwards it on, Microsoft will pay you $243 and for every third person that receives it, you will be paid $241. Within two weeks, Microsoft will contact you for your address and then send you a check."

Oh, and to make it all seem so legit, the writer (you can't really tell who it is) claims he or she got a check for $24,800 two weeks after receiving the e-mail. Then the person urges, "Please forward this to as many people as possible. You are bound to get at least $10,000. We're not going to help them out with their e-mail beta test without getting a little something for our time. My brother's girlfriend got in on this a few months ago. She showed me her check. It was for the sum of $4,324.44."

Don't you just love that touch of 44 cents?

I've gotten at least half a dozen of these e-mails.

You would think I wouldn't have to say this, but here goes: You are a sucker if you believe this is true.

What is wrong with you people? Stop forwarding this darn e-mail. It's a hoax, according to a spokesman for Microsoft.

Fortunately, the e-mail doesn't contain a virus, so it's not too harmful. But what about others that are forwarded that result in undue worry? Most recently, I received an e-mail with a dire warning.

It claimed that the plastic credit-card-looking room keys that hotels often use contain personal information, such as your credit card number and expiration date and home address. Don't just turn the cards in at the end of your stay, the e-mail warns. Anybody, especially an unscrupulous hotel employee, can take the card and -- using a scanning device -- access your information.