Outline:
Message claims that attached photographs depict a golfer whose arm was bitten off by an alligator when he attempted to retrieve his ball from an on-course pond.
Brief Analysis
The photographs are genuine but the description is not accurate. The images do not depict a golfer who was attacked while retrieving his ball. In fact, they show the results of an alligator attack on snorkeler Bill Hedden at Charleston, South Carolina’s Lake Moultrie recreation area in September 2007. In 2009 a Beaufort, South Carolina, golfer really did lose part of an arm to an alligator while attempting to recover his ball. However, the photographs in this message have no relation whatsoever to the Beaufort incident.
Example
Subject: What is a Golf Ball Worth?
From Berkeley County South Carolina. Don’t go fishing for your golf ball …..
What is a Golf Ball Worth?
(Note the hand in the gator’s mouth)
