When I get a hoax message (that is, a VirusHoax or a MailHoax), I usually reply to the sender (and other recipients) to inform them of their error, with informative links to the specific hoax they passed on. I do this in order to help and educate whoever got hit—and to stop the hoax.

Careful: Don't reply if you don't know the sender, because it might be SpamMail rather than a hoax. If you reply to spam, you will get more spam because you confirm that your address works. If you believe that the message was sent from a real person who believed the hoax, then you should reply.

Here's a typical reply. You can use this if you're looking for arguments, and I use it as a template so I don't have to write the whole thing again each time. Remember, if you reply to people then be polite and helpful, not rude. They passed on the hoax because they thought it was real. Teach them, don't tease them.

Hi all,
sorry to reply to all of you, but please PLEASE don't pass the fake message 
on - and if you did, send this text to the same people. I'll try to keep 
this short. 
(How did I get your address? It was listed in the mail I received. I won't 
use it again or give it to others, and that's a promise.)

Folks, this is a hoax (a fake, a trick, a lie, a fraud). There are lots of 
those around. Nothing will happen, nobody will get rich or sick or lucky or 
saved, and the only result is that the Internet will become more crowded 
with useless noise and people will continue to believe these things work. 
So please, take a moment to hear me out, and think of this if you see more 
of these messages in the future.

Thank you. Here goes:

1. Why is this message bad?
2. Why is this message fake?
3. How can you be sure?
4. What can I do about it?

__________________________________
1. Why is this message bad?

A virus is called a virus because it's annoying, spreads fast and is 
hard to stop. It also relies on people that know too little about this 
and can be fooled into spreading the virus without their knowing. Fake 
warnings are just like this, so you could say that a fake warning is a 
virus itself. Stop the virus -- and the fake warning -- by learning to 
recognize it and delete these kind of messages instead of passing them 
on. Don't be fooled by them. 

__________________________________
2. Why is this message fake?

It's very easy to tell a fake message from a real one. As a simple rule, if 
a message has been passed around a lot, it's fake. Here are a few more rules 
you can use to identify fake messages:
 a) These kind of messages always contain the request to pass it on to
everybody you know. This is the most obvious sign of a fake warning. Passing
it on is not a professional way of transmitting important information.
Normal news media channels and trustworthy homepages would be professional.
 b) These kind of messages typically claim to have a trustworthy source (like
Microsoft, IBM, AOL, or a specific person). You can tell they're fake because 
they would never inform people in that manner. They would use normal news 
media and also post it on their homepages.
 c) These kind of messages typically do not come from the quoted source, but
from an individual you might or might not even know. The source is just
mentioned to make the fake mail sound convincing. If you ask the alleged
source (if they exist at all!), they will most likely deny the statement.
 d) Read more on this page: http://g-b.dk/mail = "Stay away from Bad Mails!"


__________________________________
3. How can you be sure?

There are many ways to expose hoaxes like this. You can search on Google for
parts of the text, or you can visit sites that specialize in exposing these
messages.

After a simple Google search, I found that this particular message has been 
around for a long time. For instance, here is a person describing it more 
than a year ago:
  http://blog.tigre-tech.net/archives/000129.php

And here's another page telling that the message is a hoax:
  http://utahscams.50megs.com/Reader.htm

Here's the Google search I used:
  http://www.google.com/search?q=hoax+%22General+Manager+Field+Operations%22


__________________________________
4. What can I do about it?

It's extremely likely that the message is a hoax. You should do two things:
a) Delete the message, don't send it on!
b) Write back to the sender (and other recipients) with a text just like this
   one. Inform the sender that it's a hoax. Be helpful and polite, not rude.

If you do this, you help in two ways: First, you help stop the hoax because 
you didn't pass it on. Second, you help stop the hoax because you educate 
other people that they shouldn't believe everything they see.

If you are unsure, try to find out. Search Google. Ask people whom you trust 
to know about this. Ask me - my address is below. 


__________________________________
You're very welcome to e-mail me if you have any questions about any part of 
the above. I will promise you an answer.

-- 
Torben Gundtofte-Bruun..........torben(a)g-b.dk
Stay away from Bad Mails! -- http://g-b.dk/mail