One Step in Reducing Excessive Email

Even a great spam blocker doesn't stop the emails from well-meaning friends passing on the latest internet warning. Today I received an email alerting me not to return calls to 809 area codes or I would be charged $2,425 per minute. An aura of authenticity was fostered by the opening headline [caps are original] "THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION PROVIDED TO US BY AT&T. "

I hate these emails for two reasons: they rob me of time as I try to clear my inbox; at the same time they make me feel guilty when I delete them without educating the sender. With experience and the help of Snopes.com , however, I have learned that alarmist emails can be deleted immediately.

This time, I was curious enough to double-check the story. I put "area code 809" into Google, and up popped a link to snopes.com : http://www.snopes.com/fraud/telephone/809.asp . Check out what they have to report on the history and veracity of this urban legend.

If you have any problems deleting these types of emails, check out the next few that come your way on snopes.com. It won't take long before you can delete them after reading the first sentence, without resorting to snopes.com . I used to take the time to email the snopes.com link to the well-meaning friends, but it never seemed to keep them from passing on the next alarmist email. So now I just delete.

That's my tip to help you quickly reduce emails in your inbox.