Hitman Email on FBI Hit List

Written by Carl E. Reid on September 4, 2008

I laughed so hard when I read this story. This certainly adds a new twist to the Nigerian spam email we have all received over the years.  Network World previously reported a disturbing “hit man” scam email being distributed as spam. This is an update to that story, where a so called “hitman” threatens” to kill the reader, unless money is sent immediately.  I pray people are not that gullible to buy into this utter nonsense.  Unfortunatley some will.

Back in February the FBI received complaints from people in Utah, Idaho and Wyoming. The “hit man” email scam also appeared in Washington, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Michigan.  The ridiculous scam email appeared as far back as 2006.  The email was supposedly from a hired assassin. It’s actually a spam  emailing worded in such a manner as to terrorize the reader into giving up  personal information. Replying to this e-mail is a mistake and really should be ignored. Anyone who is scared into replying just confirms to the spammers they have a real email address. It also escalates the intimidation, the FBI said in a report last year.

Two new versions of the scheme began appearing in July 2008, the FBI said. One version told the recipient to contact a telephone number contained in the e-mail. Another version threatened the reader that someone in their family would be kidnapped unless money was sent quickly. There was a deadline of 48 hours for payment to be made. The sender was to provide the location of the wire transfer five minutes before the deadline and threatened bodily harm if the ransom was not received within 30 minutes of the time frame provided.

What really frightens each email reader into action is that some sort of personal information is included. This creates the appearance that the “hit man” spammer actually knows the person and can come to their home. Thousands of these scam emails have been distributed.

This spam email makes the Nigerian scam email look less foolish. The FBI is warning people to ignore the spam and report any incidents to the Internet Crime Complaint Center. So the best defense to this scam is NO RESPONSE. The “hitman” email distributions  are only on a fishing expedition to see who bites.

About Carl E. Reid

Developing his career from the mail room to the board room, Carl E. Reid has achieved success by skillfully blending 40 years of technology and business intelligence experience with his passion for helping companies succeed. Carl is founder and CEO of NetTECH Systems Reid & Associates, Inc., an emerging technology consulting company located in the New York City area. One of his specialties is 15 years as a collaboration and email infrastructure consultant. He has implemented and supported Lotus Notes/Domino and other types of SMTP gateway/network configurations in small to large global companies up to 33,000 employees. Some of his clients have included IBM, Citi, JPMChase, Oxygen, LVMH - Moet Hennessy, MeadWestvaco, non-profits and professional organizations. Carl is a Savvy Business Owner, Public Speaker and Author. His articles have appeared in Network World, Computer Monthly magazines and hundreds of web sites. Combining business technology consulting with professional blogging, Carl specializes in advising clients how to best leverage the Internet as a tool for high impact visibility. Carl's speaking style combines humor with expertise, and his advice is always down-to-earth and practical. He personally publishes Library of Congress recognized newsletter blog, http://www.SavvyIntrapreneur.com and http://www.iTechSpeak.com. Carl wrote the original "Professional Blogger Job Description", being used as standard document within companies. As a business career coach, Carl teaches professionals how to run their career as a profitable business.
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