The Internet is literally flooded with information. Unfortunately not everything we see online is true. This can be a hindrance to those of us seeking reliable, differentiated sources of information. Recently I received yet another email informing me of the newest government plot to take away my freedom. You may have seen it as well. Among other things, it says:

Under proposed legislation the U.S. Postal Service will be attempting to bill email users out of "alternate postage fees". Bill 602P will permit the Federal Govt. to charge a 5 cent surcharge on every email delivered, by billing Internet Service Providers at source. The consumer would then be billed in turn by the ISP.

WOW! This sounds terrible. Once again big brother is attempting to bully away our freedom in the name of profit. The email continues:

One congressman, Tony Schnell (r) has even suggested a "twenty to forty dollars per month surcharge on all Internet service" above and beyond the government's proposed email charges. Note that most of the major newspapers have ignored the story, the only exception being the Washingtonian which called the idea of email surcharge "a useful concept whose time has come"

OK, now things are beginning to sound a little weird. Have you ever heard of a newspaper called "the Washingtonian"? Me neither. How about a congressman named "Tony Schnell”? This email is beginning to seem more and more like a plot concocted by an anonymous disgruntled postal worker. One quick look at the US congress web site shows that there is nobody named Tony Schell in the US congress. After a quick look at the US Postal Service site, I discover a link that states "E-MAIL RUMOR COMPLETELY UNTRUE". The page reads:

WASHINGTON – A completely false rumor concerning the U.S. Postal Service is being circulated on Internet e-mail. As a matter of fact, the Postal Service has learned that a similar hoax occurred recently in Canada concerning Canada Post.

The e-mail message claims that a "Congressman Schnell" has introduced "Bill 602P" to allow the federal government to impose a 5-cent surcharge on each e-mail message delivered over the Internet. The money would be collected by Internet Service Providers and then turned over to the Postal Service.

No such proposed legislation exists. In fact, no "Congressman Schnell" exists.

The U.S. Postal Service has no authority to surcharge e-mail messages sent over the Internet, nor would it support such legislation.

So it appears that one more load of crap has fallen into my inbox. The moral of the story? Don't automatically believe every piece of information that comes your way. It took 5 minutes to discover this hoax. The next time an unsubstantiated rumor enters your inbox (be it digital or cerebral), find out if it's true before you beam it off to the rest of the world. Don't be sheep.