You receive an alarming e-mail message from a good friend that warns of ankle-slashing gang members, ether disguised as perfume, shopping mall abductions, or women robbed in the mall and left naked in the restroom. The victim is almost always a young woman, the perpetrator a man. These chain letters always contain stories of crimes that could happen, but no evidence that one has happened. No locations, names or dates are given, but the author knows all about it, even though the media has yet to report it.
 
The recipe for this rumor stew takes a plausible scenario, adds a touch of paranoia, a pinch of stereotyping (women are weaker and more vulnerable than men), and finishes it off with a heaping helping of imagination. Young, single women who choose to work, live, travel or shop alone are thought of by society as being more at risk from the criminal element, and while virtually anybody could fall victim to these schemes, the warnings are most aways aimed at the kind of women described above.
 
Never rely on information in anonymous e-mail chain letters for your personal safety. If you're concerned, contact your local law enforcement agency, check with the local media (TV, newspaper), and research the various hoax websites. No matter how much the purveyors of fear and hate want you to believe how true these rumors are, the fact is that they just aren't real.