ONLINE EXTORTION SCAM
E-Mail Scam Includes Hit-Man Threat

The Mobile office of the FBI wants to advise the public of an online extortion scam in which the e-mail recipients are threatened with death by a hit-man.  This scam began last December, however, local residents are now receiving these e-mails. 

As recently as July 5, 2007, a Mobile resident received an e-mail message which stated that the sender had been hired to "terminate" the recipient, however for $8000 the individual will not carry through on the termination.  The e-mail also indicates that they have been following or watching the victim.  They are also provided instructions not to notify law enforcement or family members, because the employer of the hit-man may be a family member of friend of the victim.
                            
To date over 500 complaints have been filed with the FBI's International Crime Complaint Center (IC3) since this scam emerged.  The FBI advises this is a scam and recipients should not respond to these e-mails.  Replying sends a signal to the sender that they have reached a live account, and it can also escalate the intimidation.  The underlying message in these scams is to pay the sender or risk the alternative. 

And there is a twist to this scam, other e-mails are being sent which state that an individual was recently arrested for the murders of several United States and United Kingdom citizens in relation to this matter.  That e-mail goes on to state the recipient's information was found on the subject identifying the recipient as the next victim, and the recipient is asked to reply in order to assist in the investigation.

The message from the FBI is that recipients of these e-mails should delete them, do NOT respond, and to file a complaint through the IC3.gov website.  Due to the threat of violence in these extortion e-mails, if an individual receives an e-mail that contains personal information that might differentiate their e-mail from the general e-mail spam campaign, the recipient should contact the FBI immediately at 251-438-3674.