Yeah, I guess people ARE that stupid
Spammers Claiming To Be Assassins Try To Scam People Out Of Money - News Story - WRC | Washington:
WASHINGTON -- Spammers claiming to be assassins have been trying to scam people out of thousands of dollars using e-mail threats.
In the e-mail that is making the rounds on the Internet, spammers claim they have been hired to kill recipients, but will graciously drop the contract if recipients send them money.
Maryland's Attorney General Doug Gansler said the e-mails are part of the second generation of so-called phishing scams.
Scam artists send out hundreds of thousands of e-mails containing the threat. If they get just a small percentage of recipients to comply, they can reap huge profits.
"Clearly, they work because they keep doing it," he said.
The e-mail begins "Good day, I have been paid $50,000 in advance to terminate you. Do not contact the police or FBI, because if you do, I will know and might be pushed to do what I have been paid to do."
The e-mail continues, "You will need to pay $20,000 to the account I will provide for you before we will set our first meeting. You don't need my phone contact for now till I am assured you are ready to comply."
"People shouldn't respond to any of these e-mails that they themselves don't initiate," Gansler warned. "They should never send any money to anyone who sends you an e-mail saying that I need this, that and the other."
Most people News4 talked to said they would never fall for the scam.
"It's sort of terrible that people out there are that opportunistic and want to sort of prey on people's fears, and obviously on such a fear as primal as that," said computer user Brian Dahinden.
"I think that I would probably ultimately hit the delete button," Dahinden said.
"I usually just delete it. I don't open. I delete all of my trash," said computer user Ellen Murphy.
Police said people who receive the e-mails should not delete them but, rather, save them and report them to the Secret Service, state's attorney general's office or the Federal Bureau of Investigation.