No Laughs in Email Hoax

There are some sick puppies out there. This release from the Attorney General's office details an e-mail hoax that threatens the life of the recipient and demands payment:

[verbatim release] Jackson, Miss -- A threatening e-mail is making an appearance in Mississippi The e-mail is similar to other threatening hoaxes which have been reported in the state. Attorney General Jim Hood announced that his office has received several reports of an e-mail which involves a death threat to the recipient. The e-mail is most likely an extortion scam or hoax,. This particular e-mail is listed by the FBI at http://www.fbi.gov/cyberinvest/escams.htm as an extortion scam and on several internet security sites as a hoax.

The e-mail sender claims that he/she has been hired to kill the victim and states that the victim will be killed unless the victim pays a large sum of money to the e-mail sender. An example of such a e-mail is as follows:

Hello I am very sorry for you Xxxxxx, is a pity that this is how your life is going to end as soon as you don't comply. As you can see there is no need of introducing myself to you because I don't have any business with you, my duty as I am e-mailing you now is just to KILL you and I have to do it as I have already been paid for that. Someone you call a friend wants you dead by all means, and the person have spent a lot of money on this, the person also came to us and he provided us with your name ,picture and other necessary information's we needed about you. So I sent my boys to track you down and they have carried out the necessary investigation needed for the operation on you but I told them not to kill you since their findings shows that you are innocent. I called my client back and ask him of your email address which I didn't tell him what I wanted to do with it and he gave it to me and I am using it to contact you now. As I am writing to you now my men are monitoring you and they are telling me everything about you. Get back to me now if you are ready to pay some fees to spare your life, $12,000 is all you need to spend You will first of all pay $6,000 then I will send a tape to you which I recorded every conversation I had with the person who wanted you dead and as soon as you get the tape, you will pay the remaining $6,000 by hand. If you are not ready for my help, then I will carry on with my job immediately. I know that this is not a professional job am doing. This same person that paid me to kill you. Sent another assasin to kill me after I have Killed you. Not knowing the person he sent was a student of my school of killing static. WARNING: DO NOT THINK OF CONTACTING THE POLICE OR EVEN TELLING ANYONE BECAUSE I WILL KNOW.REMEMBER, SOMEONE WHO KNOWS YOU VERY WELL WANT YOU DEAD! I WILL EXTEND IT TO YOUR FAMILY, INCASE I NOTICE SOMETHING FUNNY. DO NOT COME OUT ONCE IT IS 7M UNTIL I MAKE OUT TIME TO SEE YOU AND GIVE YOU THE TAPE OF MY DISCUSSION WITH THE PERSON WHO WANT YOU DEAD THEN YOU CAN USE IT TO TAKE ANY LEGAL ACTION. GOOD LUCK AS I AWAIT YOUR REPLY. You are advice to contact me with this email as soon as you are ready for business. Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) this is to let you know that I am everywhere. Don't Play a fast one on me. Or you will lose your life and that of your family.

"Scam artists and internet predators often use these schemes to frighten people into paying large sums of money. This is extortion and may be prosecuted," said Attorney General Jim Hood, "If you receive one of these emails it is probably a hoax, but I still recommend that you contact our Office and/or your local police or sheriffs department. Anytime a citizen receives a threat, by whatever means, it should be reported to the local law enforcement authorities."

Do not respond to these threatening e-mails. Report them to your local law enforcement authorities and the Attorney General's Office. Anyone with concerns about a suspicious e-mail, may contact the Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division at http://www.ago.state.ms.us or 601-359-4230.

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