Spam That Threatens to Hurt You

It seems that hackers and criminals have a touch of nostalgia. They are re-cycling an old ploy. It has been called ‘hit-man spam’. This old scam has resurfaced:

“…The faux-assassin attempts to extort money by threatening bodily harm if the recipient doesn’t send a payment by e-mail.”

link: The return of ‘hit man’ spam

What is old is new again. One suspects that, if one hacking / criminal group is resurrecting this attack, others will follow. With the recent increase of spam, Chris Pirillo has reminded that there are indeed real dangers in these spam emails. Hit-man spam should be reported to the Federal Bureau of investigation. Threats of physical harm is a criminal offense.

Catherine Forsythe