First of all I have heard of hoax viruses I have even recieved one in my time. I will not go theorugh the list one of the older ones is the "Good Times" virus. I am going to put it this way you can not be infected by a virus by reading an e-mail. Now someone could attach a virus to the e-mail and when you dowload that attachment you could infect yourself, but other than that it is not possible. If you e-mail me saying that you opened an e-mail and it said you have a virus I will not even give you the respect of sending an e-mail calling you a retard. Viruses can't be stored in Text fromat. If you have recieved an e-mail with a virus attached delete it, but you have plenty of time until you dowload that virus to your computer it is harmless.