I hate to be cynical, but . . .

If you are like me, you get a %&**load of spams a day. Thrown into the mix is the occasional tear jerker or promise to support brain cancer if you simply click here. The web’s equivalent of an Urban Legend.

I got such an email this morning from a dear friend, but I was suspicious of its authenticity. It involved helping a 2-year old Tsunami victim. Of course being the cynical bastard that I am, I wondered if it was a scam.

So off I went to my favorite “is it a scam” website – http://www.snopes.com/. And yes, they had my answer. It turns out the request was genuine, but outdated. Fortunately, the young lad had been reunited with his family about two weeks ago. I updated my friend on the status of the young boy.

I have used Snopes for everything from M&M legends, to Breast Cancer promotions (again, genuine – but this one was 3 years expired). So before you pass on the next email about saving the world, and thus unintentionally creating spam, check out http://www.snopes.com/.

Your email list thanks you.

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