Debunking Internet hoaxes

Almost every day I get queries about whether a particular report or rumor
circulating on the Internet is true or not. Not sure whether that
e-mail you got contains the truth, a shred of truth, or is a complete
fabrication? Here are some of the best resources for verifying or
discounting possible Internet hoaxes.

Snopes
The granddaddy of them all.

Vmyths
Learn about computer virus myths, hoaxes, urban legends, hysteria, and the implications if you believe in them.

Sophos
Sophos provides information about virus hoaxes, chain letters, scams and misunderstandings to aid companies and individuals.

Hoaxbusters
A service of the Computer Incident Advisory Capability and US Dept. of Energy.

About.com Urban Legends
About.com debunks the most common urban legends.

Hoax info from Nonprofit.net
Fairly extensive database of Net hoaxes.

Break the chain
The name says it all.

EFF’s Folklore page
Background on the subject from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Urban legends & modern myths
A collection of the entertaining modern folktales.

CERT Coordination Center at Carnegie Mellon University
Virus and virus-hoax news.

HoaxKill
A site that identifies hoaxes and provides instructions to combat them,
with an archive of chain letters, urban legends and hoaxes.

Chain letters
A chain letters verification site that seems to have gone into hibernation.

Fraud Bureau
A free service established to alert online consumers and investors of  complaints relating to online vendors

Fraud info from Google
More about fraud and scams than hoaxes.

Scambusters
All about Internet fraud.

Have others you rely on? Please add them in the Comments field below.

JD Lasica, founder of Inside Social Media, is also a fiction author and the co-founder of the cruise discovery engine Cruiseable. See his About page, contact JD or follow him on Twitter.