E-Mail Rumor Riles Canada Post: 5-cent tax on e-mail.
Tuesday, April 20, 1999

The good folks at Canada Post Corporation were taken somewhat aback by an Internet rumor that the Canadian government and its privatized postal service were about to introduce an e-mail tax to recoup revenues lost through the declining popularity of snail-mail.

Recently, many hundreds of e-mails have been circulated stating that Canada Post hopes to institute a 5-cent tax on e-mail.

The hoax message, complete with what appears to be the address of a Toronto law firm, states that Canada Post hopes to earn $23 million (CDN) annually through the tax. The message claimed that Canada Post and the federal government were conspiring to quietly push the bill through procedures and into law.

But sharp-eyed recipients soon detected that the mailing was a sham. The law firm that claims to have sent the missive does not exist, nor does the proposed Bill 602P, nor does its supposed sponsor, Liberal Member of Parliament Tony Schnell.

Canada Post has reacted by threatening legal action against the originators. "If people believe it, that is very damaging to Canada Post and the federal government," said Canada Post spokeswoman Ida Irwin. "We had to correct it, and our legal people will follow up immediately."

Postal sleuths tracked the e-mail to its source, reportedly a discussion group based in Arizona. The corporate demanded an apology, retraction, and the removal of the offending material from the site.

Irwin told Newsbytes today that the made-up message first surfaced in the Canadian Maritime provinces about a week ago and quickly spread nationwide. She said that one French-language Montreal newspaper reported it as fact.

The incident is the latest in a wave of false rumors and phony urban legends that have circulated recently on the World Wide Web.

Last November a rumor circulated via e-mail warned that a dangerous gang initiation ritual was being performed throughout Ontario. The mailing warned motorists not to flash their headlights at oncoming cars as a signal they had forgotten to turn their headlights on, long a common road courtesy. According to the rumor, the oncoming car could contain prospective gang members who would then execute a U-turn, chase the good Samaritan down and riddle his or her car with bullets, all as part of the initiation rite. Police were at first alarmed, but later determined the rumor was a complete fabrication.

Internet observers say the ease of messaging through postings and e-mail has given birth to a number of similar hoaxes. Other pseudo urban legends currently or recently in circulation include the notion that the fifth digit of U.S. Social Security numbers discloses the bearer's race and allows those in the know to screen out visible minorities among, for example, job applicants.

One of the most imaginative false reports concerns an Arkansas woman who loaded her groceries into her car in a supermarket parking lot on an especially hot day. Just as she fastened her seat belt and prepared to start the car, she heard a pop, felt a sensation on her forehead, and when she touched her head, felt a sticky, gooey mess. Thinking she had been shot and was keeping her brains from oozing out, she called for help, which quickly arrived. The ambulance crew discovered, however, that the gooey mess was not her brains, but the contents of an exploded can of Pillsbury dough.

Canada Post officials are not laughing.

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February 09, 2010