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In an increasingly complex world where it sometimes seems that anything IS possible, how do we separate credible assertions from suspicious ones? Gossip from fact? Possibility from probability? Information from disinformation?

With the development of the Internet and weblogs, we see less and less restraint on what can be claimed, and, surprisingly, on what some folks accept with little thought.

Does loyalty to friends sometimes hinder willingness to question dubious e-mails? While some see ours as a cynical age, its ironic that so many ‘urban legends’ (ULs) successfully masquerade as fact. Recently, some of my clients received a disturbing email describing an abominable “plot by the government of Canada to tax Internet use” that claims, in part:

“…the Government of Canada is attempting to quietly push through legislation that will affect your use of the Internet. Under proposed legislation Canada Post will be allowed to bill email users out of ‘alternate postage fees’. Bill 602P will permit the Federal Government to charge a 5 cent surcharge on every email delivered, by billing Internet Service Providers at source. The consumer would then be billed in turn by the ISP. Toronto lawyer Richard Stepp, QC, is working to prevent this legislation from becoming law. The Canada Post Corporation is claiming that lost revenue due to the proliferation of email is costing nearly $23,000,000 in revenue per year. You may have noticed Canada Post’s recent ad campaign “There’s nothing like a letter”.

Readers are asked to support a protest campaign led by “Mr. Stepp.”

While we may find specific details like these convincing (despite the weak writing style),
informed readers should spot this hoax immediately.

The key phrase is “Bill 602P.”
All Canadian parliamentary legislation begins with a C.
Read all the bills proposed in the last session of Parliament.
Check me out! Click anywhere on the blue text on the line above.

Even if the hoax’s perpetrator had taken pains to create a believable Bill number, ask yourself:

“Have I heard of the ‘Canada Post ad campaign’ referred to in the last line?”

Of course not.

So what’s a senior to do? Start by using the Internet to identify misinformation.
Google the name “Richard Stepp QC” and we find several sites—
mostly committed to debunking this fraud. Read some.
Also read one or two where gullible “bloggers” continue to disseminate this nonsense!

A useful account of the Bill 620P story can be found at urbanlegends.about.com

.

Turns out this Urban Legend has been around for years,
and it’s rife with lies.

Of course, there is no Richard Stepp, QC.

The example above is not the most egregious of frauds that may pop up in our inbox. The next time someone fires an alarming rumor into our email, let’s stop and check the story. In the end, WE are responsible for what we choose to believe. Let’s not permit a lack of healthy skepticism to turn us into willing dupes.

And finally, let’s send a polite response to our source, explaining the hoax, and asking them to explain it to all those they’ve sent it to. Let the light of education banish the pall of ignorance.

“Flattery is like chewing gum. Enjoy it but don’t swallow it.”
—Hank Ketcham

Click the image below to reach Snopes’ Urban Legends website.
This is an old image: When you get to the site, you’ll find an updated one.

An entertaining though older site devoted to debunking ULs is www.snopes.com/inboxer.
Answers.com’s article on urban legends is useful, too.