These old chestnuts are still doing the rounds, sometimes many years after they were released into the wild. Here is one that one of the other moderators received, and it's a classic of its genre:

Subject: a important message PLEASE SEND THIS TO EVERYONE ON YOUR CONTACT LIST !! A new virus has just been discovered that has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive ever This virus was discovered yesterday afternoon by McAfee and no vaccine has yet! been developed. This virus simply destroys Sector Zero from the hard disk, where vital information for its functioning are stored. This virus acts in the following manner: It sends itself automatically to all contacts on your list with the title "A Card for You". As soon as the supposed virtual card is opened the computer >freezes so that the user has to reboot. When the ctrl+alt+ del keys or the reset button are pressed, the virus destroys Sector Zero, thus permanently destroying the hard disk. Yesterday in just a few hours this virus caused panic in New York, according to news broadcast by CNN. This alert was received by an employee of Microsoft itself. So don't open any mails with subject: "A Virtual Card for You." As soon as you get the mail, delete it!! Even if you know the sender !!!
Note, the line in all caps asking you to send it to your contact list - this is a dead giveaway to the fact that it is almost certainly a hoax. If any of you are ever in any doubt about one of these emails, post it here in our Viruses/Trojans/Spyware forum, and we'll be able to tell you if it is genuine or not.

Viruses / Trojans / Spyware Forum

I promise nobody on this site has ever been laughed at for asking a question, so please don't get caught because you are embarrassed to ask. Some of the more malicious of these hoaxes will get you to remove system files, so they are far from harmless.

Here are some good sites for further information:

How to spot an email hoax

Symantec hoax page

Hoaxbusters

Truth or Fiction