Hitman scam strikes again
Issue Date: - Wednesday, 1 July 2009
A fresh surge in the nasty "hitman" scam has brought a new warning from Western Australian Consumer Protection and the Police.
Commissioner Anne Driscoll said the frighteningly realistic scam involved emails or SMS messages threatening to kill the recipient unless they paid thousands of dollars to an alleged assassin.
Known around the world as the "hitman" scam, it first surfaced in 2007 as an email, but has since evolved into a text message, and a fresh wave is now reportedly hitting WA mobile phone users.
Commissioner Driscoll said the sender claims to be a hitman who has been hired to kill you but will spare your life if you send money, typically somewhere between $1000 and $100,000. If you respond they will demand the money by wire transfer. The senders claims they are watching you and not to report the SMS or email to police.
"Don't be alarmed. The SMS are being sent randomly to large numbers of people. Replying to the SMS or email will only alert the scammers that they have a live account, have worried you enough to contact them, and they will escalate the intimidation. So don't reply"
Consumer Protection has received a number of complaints about the vicious scam in the past week.
The Western Australian Police Crime Stoppers have also reported a surge in complaints and are issuing similar advice.
Advice on the Hitman scam is available on WA ScamNet at www.commerce.wa.gov.au/ConsumerProtection/ScamNet/Scams/Hitman_Scam.html