An e-mail message making its way through the Internet has prompted many people to pass up their favorite cup of coffee at Starbucks. New York City television station WNBC wondered what it's all about.

Lately, things haven't been the same around the police department in Lavallette, N.J. Many of the officers have sworn off their favorite coffee.

"We used to buy Starbucks here at the police department, and we stopped buying it," said Len Christoforo of the Lavallette Police Department.

The coffee boycott was prompted by an e-mail message saying some Marines in Iraq asked Starbucks for some coffee samples.

"Starbucks sent them back an e-mail stating that they do not support the war and they do not support the troops, and they were not sending them coffee," said Christoforo.

The letter looks official enough to raise concerns, the station said.

"I have a son, a daughter, and a son-in-law who are in the Marines and they serve their country very proudly, and I was very disturbed by the contents of the e-mail," said Christoforo.

So were many other people, according to Starbucks, which has been fielding inquiries about the e-mail from around the country.

The letter was started by a Marine who heard the story from a friend of a friend. His e-mail caught on, and has raised interest and tempers ever since.

The coffee chain said it has no such anti-military policy and it continues to pay employees called to military duty. In addition, Starbucks has donated 50,000 pounds of coffee to the Red Cross serving soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. And its employees have donated thousands of pounds of coffee directly to the troops.

"I won't buy the product if this does turn out to be true," said Christoforo. "If not, then I will still be a loyal Starbucks customer."

The letter is false, WNBC said. In fact, the serviceman who wrote it has sent out an apology for the problems it caused.