STOP SENDING US CASH

AA husband and wife say they could have made a fortune from a hoax email that has circulated the world and prompted people to send them money.
The couple have been offered thousands of dollars, trips overseas, free accommodation and endless support for a non-existent 7-year-old who is said to have cancer.
The couple have been so bombarded with generous people from all over the world, they just want it to stop.
The saga started a year ago when the Whakatane couple, who don't want to be named, received an email about a girl named Amy Bruce. According to the email, she is a Whakatane girl with a large tumour on her brain and has severe lung cancer.
The email encourages recipients to forward the message to as many people as possible, saying the Make A Wish Foundation will donate 7c for every time the message is sent on.
"I got this email just after my wife had been diagnosed with breast cancer and I admit it hit a nerve," the husband told The Daily Post.
Two weeks after forwarding the message, the couple received a phone call from the Make A Wish Foundation telling them the organisation had never agreed to donate money. They learned their name and contact details had been put at the bottom of the email.
"In hindsight it's quite obvious the email is a hoax - I mean how would the Make A Wish Foundation even know how many times it had been forwarded?" the husband said.
After a bit of digging they found out the hoax had been circulating the world for the past five years and since July last year with their names, address and home and cellphone numbers at the bottom. "In the four years before our name came to be on the email, there is a real possibility somebody has made a lot of money from this hoax," the husband said.
"The response has been absolutely astounding," his wife said. "People who think Amy is our daughter or granddaughter have just opened their wallets and their hearts.
"We've had cheques for $1000, $500 and $100 sent to our home, calls asking for our bank account details so money can be deposited, offers of free accommodation in Queenstown and Australia, and suggestions of herbal remedies to cure the cancer."
One call came from a man in Asia who didn't speak English very well and simply asked the couple how much money they needed for Amy.
"We've had offers from groups, bands and artists who want to fundraise for us."
Returning the money has not been an easy task for the couple as many envelopes did not have a return address.
"We've had to search the white pages in an attempt to locate some of the people who sent money," the wife said.
"Then we ring and explain the email is a hoax and most ask us to rip the cheques up.

"They are extremely grateful and admit they would never have known otherwise if the cheque had been banked."
Even now, 12 months on, the calls come in daily.
"I don't answer my cell phone if I don't know the number - just yesterday I got four phone calls from people wanting to help," the wife said.
All of their answerphones now have a message explaining the email is a hoax and both have a pre-emptive text reply set up saying the same thing. They have also called internet providers and asked if the email can be filtered somehow.
"The worst part about it all, and what makes me really sad, is that in genuine cases most people would be skeptical about giving after this - I know I would be," the wife said.
A spokesperson from Make A Wish Foundation confirmed the Whakatane couple had been contacted and the foundation was confident they were not involved in the hoax.
"We are in the process of upgrading our website and we aim to list all of the hoax emails and scams the foundation has been incorrectly linked to," the spokesperson said.

If you suspect a hoax, visit snopes.com.