Have you ever received an e-mail about missing child Ashley Flores (or any other kid - unrelated to an Amber alert)? How about an e-mail warning you not to open any e-mail with, insert headline or keyword here, and to forward the warning to as many people as you can? Or an e-mail promising free stuff from companies like Applebees, AOL or Dell?

Now the real question.... did you pass it on?

If you did, there is a good chance that you passed along an e-mail chain letter or virus spoof, and not a legitimate e-mail. And you certainly aren't alone! Like most well-intentioned people, it certainly seems like a good idea to give friends, family and colleagues a heads up on potential threats or opportunities. And what could be the harm?

According to the experts at McAfee, virus spoofs can become more than an annoyance - they can in fact become the e-mail that actually carries the virus! For example, in 1999 a virus e-mail titled "AOL4FREE" actually started as a hoax warning about a nonexistent virus. But as the e-mail became widely distributed, someone created a trojan horse and then attached it to the original warning!

So what can you do? Before you pass along an e-mail, take a few minutes to check it out by visiting one of these sites:

• McAfee Threat Center - Hoaxes



• TruthOrFiction.com



• BreakTheChain.org

While you are there, you can also subscribe to be notified of new spoofs, or in the case of the McAfee, ACTUAL virus threats.

Also, if you do want to help out when children go missing in your area, take a few seconds to sign up to have Amber alerts in your area sent directly to your cellphone.