Will the real Ella Schultz please stand up?

Ella Schultz, an elderly black woman living in Kentwood, Michigan, is quite the emailer. Over the past year she's been shooting off emails to teachers, school administrators, and even a few journalists. But it turns out that Ella isn't actually real. The person actually sending those emails was Edward Kape, a Kentwood Board of Education member (who has now resigned). Or at least, he was one of the people using 'Ella Schultz' as their nom de plume. He insists there were others, though he's not naming any names. The tip off for those receiving the emails should have been that they came from Yahoo and Hotmail accounts. Whenever I receive an email from someone I don't know who's using a Yahoo or Hotmail account, my b-s detector immediately starts to go off.

Email Hoaxes Identity/Imposters

Posted on Mon Apr 26, 2004


Comments

Personally, I don't like the "yahoo or hotmail = BS" thing. I have a domain name and an e-mail from it, but I also have a Hotmail account that I usually send people to. Why? Because it's configured to my MSN so I stay right on top of things as they are sent to me. But I really should comment to these things when I'm sick and half asleep...
Posted by Goo  on  Mon Apr 26, 2004  at  04:27 AM
I can understand the frustration such a farse could cause, but everyone using a yahoo or hotmail account certainly "ain't full of B.S." <laughing> Even my website is generic...but I choose those based on convenience, access, and control. We yahoo and hotmail users forgive you! <laughing harder>
Posted by Dr. Richard NeSmith  on  Mon Apr 26, 2004  at  09:45 PM
I guess I didn't say what I was trying to say very well. Of course, yahoo and hotmail users aren't all full of bs. I have a yahoo account that I use occasionally (usually whenever some site registration requires me to give an email address). But people should be aware that ANYONE can sign up for a yahoo or hotmail account, using ANY name whatsoever... which is basically like an open invitation for people to misrepresent themselves. So, for instance, if I get an email from someone claiming to be a LA Times reporter, but they're using a yahoo account, my first thought is 'are they really what they claim to be.' But if they're writing from an latimes.com account, my instinct is to believe they are who they say they are.
Posted by The Curator  in  San Diego  on  Mon Apr 26, 2004  at  10:24 PM
No worries, Alex. You are very right. Course, living in the era of deceit, one can never be too careful, I suppose. Keep up the good work.
😊
Posted by Dr. Richard NeSmith  on  Mon Apr 26, 2004  at  10:32 PM
This is hilarious! My name is Ella Schultz! (Although I don't live in Michigan..)
Posted by Ella Schultz  on  Fri May 04, 2012  at  07:45 PM
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