Joseph Edwards (Photo : http://www.mirror.co.uk/)
Joseph Edwards, an autistic boy, hanged himself after reading a hoax mail, saying that he had to pay a fine for looking at "indecent" photos or else the police will have to take action.
Michael Burgess, a coroner from Berkshire, said that the scam might have caused "great distress and difficulty" to the autistic boy, Mirror reported.
The 17-year-old, who lived in Berkshire, England, was found dead by his mother. After the incident, the mother started a campaign for Internet scams awareness.
The local authorities inspected Joseph's computer and discovered that he was reading the hoax email before hanging himself. The email claimed to be from the Cheshire Police force and said that Joseph would need to pay a £100 fine before the police acts.
Because of his autism, Joseph took the email very seriously and decided to commit suicide.
His mother Jacqueline said that Joseph was a happy teenager and was making new friends before the unfortunate incident happened, according to The Stir.
Detective Sergeant Peter Wall, who is one of the investigators in the case, said that the ones responsible for the hoax may not easily be arrested as the only thing they found out is that the scam email was sent from overseas.
In a statement, Jacqueline said that while the Internet is amazing, it also has its own dangers. She tells parents to inform their children regarding Internet scams.
Hoaxes has been around for years since the Internet and the email was born. Some scam emails even claim to be from a Nigerian prince who wants to share his fortune.
