How to Recognize a Hoax
Probably the first thing you should notice about a warning is the request to "send this to everyone you know" or some variant of that statement. This should raise a red flag that the warning is probably a hoax. No real warning message from a credible source will tell you to send this to everyone you know.
Next, look at what makes a successful hoax. There are two known factors that make a successful hoax, they are:
- (1) technical sounding language.
- (2) credibility by association.
If the warning uses the proper technical jargon, most individuals, including technologically savvy individuals, tend to believe the warning is real. For example, the Good Times hoax says that "...if the program is not stopped, the computer's processor will be placed in an nth-complexity infinite binary loop which can severely damage the processor...". The first time you read this, it sounds like it might be something real. With a little research, you find that there is no such thing as an nth-complexity infinite binary loop and that processors are designed to run loops for weeks at a time without damage.
When we say credibility by association we are referring to who sent the warning. If the janitor at a large technological organization sends a warning to someone outside of that organization, people on the outside tend to believe the warning because the company should know about those things. Even though the person sending the warning may not have a clue what he is talking about, the prestige of the company backs the warning, making it appear real. If a manager at the company sends the warning, the message is doubly backed by the company's and the manager's reputations.
Both of these items make it very difficult to claim a warning is a hoax so you must do your homework to see if the claims are real and if the person sending out the warning is a real person and is someone who would know what they are talking about. You do need to be a little careful verifying the person as the apparent author may be a real person who has nothing to do with the hoax. If thousands of people start sending them mail asking if the message is real, that essentially constitutes an unintentional denial of service attack on that person. Check the person's web site or the person's company web site to see if the hoax has been responded to there.
from http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/HBHoaxInfo.html#recognizechain
"DO NOT ADD THIS GIRL....!!
If somebody called SMARTGRRL15 adds you, DONT accept it. Its a virus. Tell everyone on you know because if somebody on ur list adds them, you get the virus too. Copy and paste this to everyone you know"
Recently, the above message made its rounds through not only Allpoetry, but a few other sites on the internet. Well meaning people helped spread it, and may not have known what to look for in a hoax. One of the best things to do in any case like this, is to send it to the moderator staff so that they can check it out. Another thing before panicking and sending it to 'everyone' would be to check to see if SMARTGRRL15 exists on the site (she doesn't).
Always be in doubt of anything asking you to 'send to everyone', regardless if it is in instant message, e-mail or messenger. (I mean, who *doesn't* get at least one of those a day in their e-mail?)
There are many, many hoax sites out there, and usually by copying the warning, you can find out if it is real or not. Leaving out the 'user name' helps, since people who start these things usually change the name so that they won't be caught too early in the game. And sadly, that's all it really is to them... a game. Let's all work together to pull these hoax starters off the playing field so we can enjoy the site and our interaction with each other. 
Adding your comment:
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And it's very sad but true. *starts singing Metallica* 
