Now you switch to the abuse, knowing you let a hint of your respect for me slip.
So sorry. LOL
“Dear” is a fairly common salutation used in correspondence. I know of someone who recently wrote both their US Senators and their US Representative. All three are liberals. Nonetheless, each was addressed as “dear.”
Thus, it’s hardly a term of abuse, error, fraud or lie, but merely a matter of preferred etiquette. Another valuable effect of this minor social grace is that it should serve as a reminder to try to write charitably to each other.