Don't Get Fooled Again - Be a Skeptic

Back in the 70's, The band called The Who released one of their best songs, "Won't get fooled again." That was back in the day when young people were warned not to trust anyone over thirty. Well, that was then.

Today, the mantra of the skeptic is "Don't Trust Anyone." Period. Lincoln said that you can't fool all of the people all of the time, but that was before the Internet.

"Won't get Fooled" should be the theme song for those of us who constantly question the verity and validity of any statement we hear (or read in blogs). My friends think I am a nit-picker because I check everything. But, more often than not, I find that alleged "facts" are often distorted factoids.

Factoid is a term originally coined (by Norman Mailer) to describe as small item of information that was generally accepted to be true, but which, in fact, is false. For example, most of us believe that chameleons can change color to match their surroundings, which is clearly false. if you don't believe me, go ahead and google it yourself.

I encourage you not to believe me. After all, why should you believe me or anyone else when we say something that sounds fishy. If you did look it up, then you see that I was messin' with you. Chameleons really do change color! Hah! See how easy it is to blur the truth?

Being a skeptic is necessary in the Internet Age. People seem to love the ease at which they can send a juicy item of gossip or other unverified news item. If you are like me, friends and relatives are always forwarding e-mails that contain some dire warning about threats or shocking facts about celebrities. Most of these can be checked out by copying the subject line and pasting it into your browser search box.

I guarantee you that 9 out of 10 messages that you receive that urge you to "send this to everyone" are hoaxes or lies. The search will almost always take you to snopes.com which is my authority for finding hoaxes, lies and urban legends.

This simple act will take 10 seconds but can save you the embarrassment of realizing that you frowarded a phony plea for donations to the orphan and widow fund, when it was later revealed to be a con.

 Oh, and if you have responded to one of those phony emails that are claiming that your Paypal, AOL, Bank of America (just to name a few) accounts are being closed if you do not re-verify account info, then you probably already know what it is like to have your identity stolen.

A skeptic never responds to any emails (or phone calls) that ask for personal information.  The skeptic checks out the number that is labelled 'unknown caller' on caller id by googling it.  Most of the time it is from a collections agency or someone trying to sell you something that you probably don't want. 

A good rule is, never give out any personal information, unless you initiated the call.  That is really the only way to know who you are talking to.   Never respond to anything that is offering you a free prize, contest or lottery winning, or an email with the subject line like "job offer", "your resume" or "Good News" or "Make $1,000 a day working at home".  

Finally, if you think it sounds "too good to be true" it is 100% a fraud.  There is no easy way to make money.  Except maybe those letters from the Nigerian Prince who wants to give you a million dollars...