Other LanguagesThis week, a well-meaning relative forwarded me a widely circulated e-mail warning about robbers who use ether-filled perfume bottles to render their victims unconscious. Here’s a bit of the lengthy message:
I was approached yesterday afternoon around 5:30 PM in the Wal-Mart parking lot by two males asking what kind of perfume I was wearing. Then they asked if I'd like to sample some fabulous scent they were willing to sell me at very reasonable rate. …
THIS IS NOT PERFUME...IT'S ETHER !
When you sniff it, you'll pass out. They'll take your wallet, your valuables and heaven knows what else. If it were not for this e-mail, I probably would have sniffed the 'perfume' but thanks to the generosity of an e-mailing friend, I was spared whatever might have happened to me. I wanted to do the same for you.
A quick search on Snopes.com shows that ether-wielding robbers are probably nonexistent. An Alabama woman claimed this happened to her in 1999, but no evidence ever surfaced to verify her story. According to the myth-busters at Snopes, it takes more than a few sniffs of ether to knock a person out. About.com also includes the story in its Urban Legends section.
E-mail has made it easy for folks to spam … I mean, inform … friends and family about the latest scams. Unfortunately, many folks simply forward the latest “must read” alerts without verifying whether the story is true. The next time you get a message like this, check Web sites such as Snopes.com to verify whether the story is real. (AG consumer alerts are posted here.) If it’s a hoax, do your friends and family a favor – break the chain!
- Kristin Alexander