[header] How to check out a hoax [title] Use your own common sense. [step] Do you really think you had an unknown relative who died in a foreign country leaving a vast fortune to you? [title] Check the wording in the letter or email. [step] You will often find oddly phrased and disjointed english, usually indicating that the letter is from someone whose first language is not english. 
[title] Highlight the subject line of a suspected hoax email, then copy and paste it into your favorite search engine. [step] Chances are that other people have received the same email and they are talking about it somewhere online.