Online Extortion: E-Mail Scam Includes Hit-Man Threat

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January 15, 2007

A wave of spam-like e-mails is being distributed across the Internet. The e-mail contains a threatening message and attempts to extort money from the recipient. This e-mail scam preys on individual's fears by threatening to kill them if the sender, who identifies himself as a hired assassin, is not paid a large amount of money within a specified time frame.

The e-mails often target professionals at their work e-mail address. Recipients who have replied to the messages are shocked to find that the scammers provide personal details about the victim such as the name of a spouse or pet, street address, or a phone number in an attempt to prove they are telling the truth.

This is a hoax, so don't respond. The best defense is to delete—unopened—unsolicited spam e-mail.

Click here to read more from the FBI Web site.