Sounds like you've opened it already, not that it makes that much difference. I wouldn't download any attachments without scanning and depends on what email you use, but I use Yahoo for a lot of things and they're pretty good about scanning for viruses. Set your settings to read it in text rather than HTML and you're far safer for reading email and not having "plants" grow. You seem to recognize the person so I would go ahead and check a little closer. It's not like it's something totally strange to you. Another option is something like PopPeeper. Set to text only and read the email through there. You have very little to fear opening a email in a text only mode. Another option is use a disposable account and respond to see if you know the person or not. If it's trash, it'll go to the junk account rather than the account you use more often.

I'm mostly on Facebook or All Things Plants.

Echeveria variant,Jade plant,Sunrise succulent

There's a lot of great advice here. I just wanted to share my first thought which is, "Yikes!" Additionally, here's a story/fable I've always loved that you could share with your family about a Mexican fisherman: An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied, “only a little while. The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs. The American then asked, “but what do you do with the rest of your time?” The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.” The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.” The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?” To which the American replied, “15 – 20 years.” “But what then?” Asked the Mexican. The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions!” “Millions – then what?” The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”