Hit Man Email Scammer Back With a Vengeance 169
coondoggie writes "The online Hitman scammer, who threatens to kill recipients if they do not pay thousands of dollars to the sender, is still sending out thousands of emails and the FBI is again today warning users to ignore the spam and report any incidents to the Internet Crime Complaint Center. Two new versions of the scheme began appearing in July 2008, the FBI said. One instructed the recipient to contact a telephone number contained in the e-mail and the other claimed the recipient or a 'loved one' was going to be kidnapped unless a ransom was paid."
Sounds like dangerous business (Score:4, Interesting)
sending out death threats to all and sundry . . . I hope law enforcement gets to the silly buggers before some real killers do
Re:Sounds like dangerous business (Score:5, Funny)
I don't.
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Thirded. Spammers in general should die horribly, and this idiot or idiots should be the first one up against the wall.
I have a modest proposal. We create a google 'bounty' ad account, and all place at least one ad for that account on our sites. The bounty is payable to the hitman who kills one of the top ten ROKSO spammers. Like a lottery, the bounty increases until claimed.
Perhaps we could convince spammers that being one of the top ten is a bad idea!
Hey! That's my idea... (Score:2)
Well, not exactly. ;)
Mine was to have everybody throw a few cents in whenever they get a spam, creating a sort of bounty system - somebody would go after a proliferate spammer eventually.
I was going to have it set up as a death pool type system. You pay your money and guess a date. If you're right on the date, you split the money among everybody who got the right date.
Obviously the hitman has a leg up in such a scheme...
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Spammer sends out billions of spam, watches the pot grow, offs himself and knows that his wife and kids are set for life.
What we really need to do is make it "school districts only, one claim per district" and watch as the number of underfunded school districts drops asa drastically as the number of spammers.
Can't beat a double-positive.
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Of course, if the top ten are killed, then #'s 11-20 become the top ten. And when they are dead, what would now be #'s 21-30 would be the top ten who are now marked for death.
Hmmm... Maybe you're really on to something here :-p
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Unfortunately spammers being the scum of the earth that they are would exploit this by faking their own murder and claiming the bounty.
the aim is ? (Score:2)
exactly what is the aim ? I presume extortion of money which if you look at the online scam seem's to be the endpoint of most spam email why take this any more seriously than others ?
spam filters should be able to trace then endpoints... yet another reason why SPF and DKIM should be more widely deployed...
maybe the FBI might want to focus on forceing ISP's to identify who the sender is via technologies such as DKIM...
regards
John Jones
http://www.johnjones.me.uk [johnjones.me.uk]
Yes, of course it's money (Score:2)
Well, duh - of course it's to get money. There are some suckers who haven't spent all their money trying to collect big bucks from Nigeria, and sending out Herbal Fake Viagra pills is really just too much trouble when all you need to do for your money is refrain from shooting somebody. It's as much fun as baiting trolls.
There's certainly no need for the FBI to force ISPs to implement DKIM to identify senders of spam; to the extent that technologies like that work, ISPs that want to get rid of spamming use
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There is always a risk that this will kick back on people like this. Death threats are something that will pop up on the radar of several agencies in several countries.
The ordinary Nigeria scams are just stupid and foolish.
"Dear fool I want to give you money but you will have to pay me first..."
is just so simple compared to
"Dear fool, provide me with some more information so I can kill you or some close relative unless you pay me"
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You really think they would send these themselves? Very likely they go through at least one proxy, either electronic or meatspace. The wrong person - maybe not wholly innocent however - would likely take the bullet. We need to be fair in our hatred.
this guy (Score:4, Funny)
Re:this guy (Score:4, Insightful)
Don't worry, he will. Something like this is going to happen:
Man went to jail last night for a bar fight. He paid his hundred dollars bail and gets out. He's pissed at whoever he got in a fight with, he's pissed at whoever called the cops, he's pissed at the cops, he's pissed at the bar. He comes home and finds an email threatening his life.
Whatever dimwit is sending these likely won'y be alive this time next year.
He's probaby posting at slashdot, probably somebody on my "freaks" list. I hope it's the AC who keeps posting the goatse trolls, they're getting tiresome.
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Man went to jail last night for a bar fight. He paid his hundred dollars bail and gets out. He's pissed at whoever he got in a fight with, he's pissed at whoever called the cops, he's pissed at the cops, he's pissed at the bar.
But I'm not on your freaks list yet. But I have got one hella hangover.
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I wish I could reply and mod parent insightful, funny, informative or all of the above.
I presume that when they do catch him, he'll look like that within a week.
Just goes to show, everything, no matter how obscure, how grotesque or how offensive, is relevant somehow.
stabbing device invented? (Score:5, Funny)
Has the internet stabbing device been invented?
(from http://www.bash.org/?4281 [bash.org] )
Re:stabbing device invented? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:stabbing device invented? (Score:5, Funny)
this [megatokyo.com] could be fun too
False Positives (Score:2, Funny)
This guy is ruining the legitimate hitman industry now that most of our (err, their) emails are ending up in spam bins. Better go check your spam bins people.
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If you're actually trying to blackmail your targets rather than just doing your job, then you're only shooting yourself in the foot. You won't get any repeat business that way.
Amateurs.
Old tactics (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Old tactics (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Old tactics (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Old tactics (Score:5, Funny)
Is that what is known as a "Hostile Take-over"?
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Too late (Score:5, Funny)
She's dead, Jim. :P
Re:Too late (Score:5, Funny)
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So that's how Uwe Boll gets his money to make movies... though, everyone seems to keep falling for it, for he's still releasing movies even after everyone pays to make him stop...
(Though... wasn't there something that one could do to make him stop?)
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Well, pay me $1000 or your mother in law will receive this immortality drug...
Shouldn't you be able to sell an immortality drug for millions or a few billion rather than give it away if some one doesn't give you 1K? Talk about poor planning.
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Your post should star the permanent World Lameness Expo!
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The drug would actually have to work in order to sell it.
I could threaten to give your mother in law an immortality drug if you don't pay me, with the true intent of giving her an aspirin. You're not likely to sue if she dies and I doubt she'd be up to the task, either.
Really, if you can get a mailing list containing only the emails of married men, you could make a killing from such a plan.
Reverse Darwin (Score:5, Funny)
The people who figure it's a scam realize their mistake too late. The gullible pay and live. In the end only people who click on everything and respond to spam will be left. *Wake up, you're having a nightmare!*
Is that a threat? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Is that a threat? (Score:5, Informative)
For the same reason that people fall for all kinds of scams and other stupid stuff on the internet that they might not fall for in real life -- some subset of the recipients actually believe it is real.
If you send enough, it only takes an exceedingly small percentage of people to respond to any attempt to get cash and it probably works. Same for "p3n1s 3nl4rgm3nt", Nigerian scams, or phishing.
In this case, people might actually believe (as much as you and I can't see how) that someone they know might be in real peril of getting kidnapped. Yup, it's naive, but we know people believe all sorts of things.
However, in this case, I should think that sending such threats over email is probably a federal crime, and the people doing this are going to be hosed if they get caught. I'm sure it's probably at least 2-3 felonies to do such a thing.
Cheers
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I read that in Japan someone sent out a spam that said "I know you're having an affair! Pay me $CASH_SUM or I'll tell your wife". He got lucky with some small percentage of the recipients who sent him money. But he got unlucky with a much smaller percentage who reported him to the police.
Why is it a 'scam'? (Score:3, Insightful)
Why are people calling this guy a 'scammer'? He sounds more like a simple extortionist.
Or is it simply that he is lying about murdering and kidnapping people, so tricking the victims into paying money when they get nothing in return? Maybe it would be more honest of him to really carry out the murders: then at least it wouldn't be a scam.
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This is just a mass-mailed request to receive money, hoping to get some suckers to send some. Whatever the reason given for sending money, it's a scam. Just 'cos the reason given by this scam is a threat of violence, it doesn't stop it from being a scam, it just makes it also extortion.
Re:Is that a threat? (Score:5, Insightful)
In this case, people might actually believe (as much as you and I can't see how) that someone they know might be in real peril of getting kidnapped. Yup, it's naive, but we know people believe all sorts of things.
Note as well that a small percentage of these will fall in mailbox of people in a situation where these threats may be more plausible. I mean, if my mother received such a mail just the day after my company sent my in a middle-east country, it may take a more worrying tone.
Also, if you tell "I kidnapped your child" to 20,000 people, you have a good chance to have 2 or 3 people in the list who really don't know where their children are and worried about it.
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True , and exactly that will make sure the scammers get caught.
The strength of normal scams is that they bring a positive message : they promise lots of money.
Some people buy that , and lose their money , other people see the hoax , but most of them will just ignore the email and delete it , which means their chances of getting caught are slim .
If you threaten someone's life , some might take it serious , other will also ignore it , but there's a good chance they will call the cops just to be sure.
But if yo
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My parents don't have a basement you insensitive clod. :-P
Cheers
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Cheers,
Paul
PS Actually, all that info is correct. I'd hate to have to change the phone number though.
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Sorry , i didn't think about the slashdot effect.
Just wanted to make a point on how easy it is to find someone.
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In case you already invited friends over to my place tomorrow night, you'd better bring the beer, hookers and blackjack 'cause I'm all out of that stuff at the moment.
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In this case, people might actually believe (as much as you and I can't see how) that someone they know might be in real peril of getting kidnapped. Yup, it's naive, but we know people believe all sorts of things.
Many relative "rich" business travelers worry about this. It depends on where you are at as to what "rich" is defined as. You make an average salary in the US, and you could be automatically defined as "rich" to alot of parts on the global so you've got to be careful when you doing your traveling.
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I should think that sending such threats over email is probably a federal crime, and the people doing this are going to be hosed if they get caught.
I'm sure the authorities in various cities of the former Soviet Union are going to get right on that. I expect a series of arrests imminently.
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Because a kidnapping almost always ends in the death of the kidnapped?
Anyway we're talking about a spammer. He's not exactly looking for the best and the brightest is he?
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I guess this would be a form of protection racket.
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Well, if you ignore the fact that this is a scam, kidnappings tend to be emotionally damaging. If someone truly felt that there was a credible threat to a loved one that they couldn't otherwise avoid, it makes sense, in that it would help their loved one avoid undue emotional distress and risk.
Of course, what makes more sense is contacting the FBI and saying "Hey, some asshole is threatening to kidnap my ..." But who can say.
Re:Is that a threat? (Score:5, Funny)
You can pay whenever it is convenient to you. However, let me explain you the options so you can make an informed decision:
- Paying in advance is hassle-free for all parties involved. You also get a coupon, 20% off the next ransom.
- Paying in full after the actual ransom has a 30% processing fee.
- Paying in monthly payments has no surcharge, but we will return your loved one monthly, too.
hitman.
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I thought it was standard procedure to first kidnap and then request a ransom. Why would people pay a ransom -provided they feel really threatened by the email - if noone is kidnapped yet? They can always pay ransom when the kidnapping is actually done?
Depends on who is doing it. Some Sicilian mobs ask for money before the kidnapping. Less hassle for everyone if the victim pays up front. If they don't pay, that's when you start getting increasingly nasty warnings in the form of dead pets, etc.
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Farc (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FARC [wikipedia.org]) make you pay in order not to get kidnapped.
It's more efficient that way.
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Why would people pay a ransom -provided they feel really threatened by the email - if noone is kidnapped yet? They can always pay ransom when the kidnapping is actually done?
See US foreign policy:
"If you are waiting for the smoking gun, when you see the smoke coming out of the gun it is too late: the damage has already been done." -- Ari Fleischer, White House spokesman
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In Argentina there is a widespread crime called "virtual kidnap". The criminal call and tell someone that he has a relative with him and you should pay. A lot of people fall in this scam. Look in internet for "secuestro virtual".
Re:Is that a threat? (Score:5, Funny)
I hope that they have those reward cards, where every time you get kidnapped they punch a hole in the card, and after 9 kidnappings, you get a free sandwich!
that's just plain win/win right there.
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No, but the 10th kidnapping is free
SIGN ME UP! you just can't pass up a bargain like that.
Rich folks only (Score:2, Informative)
I wouldn't expect to receive one of these unless you're wealthy and there's material out on the net attesting to the fact.
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I disagree. It's far easier (and cheaper) to send email to 1 million addresses than it is to figure out which of those 1 million people might be a good target.
I've received at least one of these (eg one that's actually made it past my spam filters), and while I completely knew it to be a scam, it still made me feel pretty yucky inside for some reason... imagine how you would feel if you
Re:Rich folks only (Score:5, Funny)
how do you know i'm paranoid by nature? who told you that? do you have other information about me? WHO TOLD YOU THAT?
Re:Rich folks only (Score:5, Funny)
According to About.com: [about.com]
FBI agent: there's only one country that has english grammar this bad...
Police Detective: The Russians!
FBI agent: exactly. It's either them or Mrs. Gleason's 8th grade english class.
Police Detective: But the Russians have rock solid alibis.
FBI agent: let's lean on the kids, and see if any of them get nervous.
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According to About.com: [about.com]
FBI agent: there's only one country that has english grammar this bad...
Police Detective: The Russians!
Police Detective: I'll start right away tracking down this "potus@whitehouse.gov". That pesky rusky can't fool us with his cartoonishly bad english!
Interesting demographic (Score:5, Funny)
I suspect you have to be gullible and paranoid with a dash of guilty conscience thrown in to fall for this scam.
Hey you... yeah you. The fat guy with cheetoh stained fingers and an external drive loaded with furry porn. Mod me up or I'll take all your action figures out of their original packaging.
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I have mod points, but object to your description of my fingers.
And my action figures are in a locked vault somewhere in my mother's basement, so good luck with that :P
Time for some furry porn...
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I suspect you have to be gullible and paranoid with a dash of guilty conscience thrown in to fall for this scam.
With any spam-driven scam, only one person in a million is gullible enough to fall for it. That's the whole point. If you had a scam that might fool a smart person, you wouldn't waste it on spam. But if people see through your scam 99.9999% of the time, spam is the only way for you to reach that vital 0.0001% of the population you're trying to rip off.
Sadly, the victims of scams are often elderly people you are a little out of it, and are easily misled. And who are really in a bad way when they lose their l
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
I'm making a note here (Score:2)
Huge Success!
Better scam ? (Score:2)
I think a great scam would go like this
"You dirty bastard, I know you just cheated on your wife, you should be ashamed. Pay me $100 or she'll know everything"
Cheating is very common, and fear will alter the judgment of the average person (It can't be a spam, how would they *know* I just cheated...). I bet lots of person would pay.
I don't consider blackmail a crime per se, but that would still be quite a disgusting practice.
Mr. Hitman, meet Mr. 419 (Score:5, Funny)
Will Mr. Hitman accept as payment the bogus $14,000 cashier's check some Nigerian scammer sent me to buy my $11,000 car?
Will he Western Union the excess back to me?
If you ever want to build a collection of fake cashier's checks, list a car on Craigslist.
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lol - perfect!
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Hitman? (Score:4, Funny)
Man, that's so old school. I already have a Hitman Pro!
Hmmmm (Score:2, Funny)
Piranha brothers (Score:2)
It was only recently that the Piranha brothers hit upon the other other operation, in which they threatened to kill the target unless he paid them the so-called "protection money".
Of course, Dinsdale is nowhere near as dangerous as Doug.
Has the hitman actually made money off this? (Score:2)
But really, the email was so vague it could have been sent to anyone. They didn't even mention me by name or location. I wasn't really the least bit concerned as it was sent to an old email address of mi
Micropayments (Score:5, Interesting)
Perfect scenario for micropayments! You could send 2000 e-mails and hope one person will pony up $1000 to avoid any downfall, or you can send 2000 e-mails and offer to take them off your hitlist for a mere dollar. At a low 50% return rate, you've made the original $1000, and the potential for more is much higher!
Seriously, criminals these days.
Dear Hitman: (Score:2)
I have your demanded payment in-hand. Meet me at 1234 Anystreet USA to collect same.
(loads .44 magnum and waits in darkened room)
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True, but dead men tell no tales.
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Why use your real location - either use your local police station, or find some location that Google Maps will send him down a long string of dark country roads to an abandoned factory by a river somewhere...
That's what that was? (Score:4, Funny)
Damn. (Score:2)
I need to relax my spam filters so that I can join in the fun of toying with these asshole scammers.
Until I'm forced into the trunk of a car (Score:2)
to meet somebody called "Guido 'No Neck' Fangioni" I'd be inclined to disbelieve it (as I disbelieve ALL unsolicited email.)
Its not that some people don't hate me, (I'm sure I've pissed old ex-bosses off, and the like,) but I seriously doubt it'd be worth the risk of looking for a hit-person (they're NOT all male,) or the expense.
Basically, I'd say: "Well, you gotta do what you gotta do... But I AM armed, dangerous, a fuckin' lunatic, rich enough to devote some time to it, and if I decide to hunt your down,
I knew it (Score:2)
Had to be a mistake. Who could possibly want to kill arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
FBI Prose (Score:2, Insightful)
...the FBI is again today warning users to ignore the spam and report any incidents...
Which is it? Ignore or report?
The educational requirements to become an FBI agent are supposed to be pretty high. Wouldn't know it from their press releases. I remember during the hunt for the Unabomber they mentioned that a parcel's return address was "factitious."
Insightful?! (Score:2)
Modded insightful? That's laughable. While some press releases are indeed rather comical, if you're unable to deduce the obvious meaning, you're just being a snide bugger about it. Honestly, I don't think anyone is liable to be confused that the FBI's statement implies that 1) recipients should ignore the threat in the spam and 2) report the incident. It isn't rocket science, it's English! Any
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Please. I'm not a grammar nazi. As far as I'm concerned, grammatical rules are just a convention, and people are entitled to use whatever conventions they want.
What I am is a clarity nazi. When we send our blackshirts to beat people up, we remind them that there's no substitute for clarity. As they say in the military services, an order or other communication that can be misunderstood, will be misunderstood. Avoiding that situation means avoiding ambiguity, even when the resolution of that ambiguity seems o
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they mentioned that a parcel's return address was "factitious."
Which is a real word correct in context and it's not even a neologism. Buy a dictionary.
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Buy one yourself. "Factitious" means "deliberately misleading". Makes no sense for a return address. The right word here is "fictitious".
I dont get it ... (Score:2)
If you are the hitman scammer - you tell you victim to do what? Wire transfer to his bank account? Mail him cash?
Isn't it supper easy to bust the scammer?
Just follow the money right?
What am I missing here?
Payment for the hitman threat... (Score:2)
I'm surprised that I didn't notice a comment about the perfect response to this scam:
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Re:I will kidnap CowboyNeal (Score:5, Funny)
Unless you pay me $9000
You left the word 'not' out of your subject.
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Re:I will kidnap CowboyNeal (Score:4, Funny)
Pfft, it's gonna cost you at least that much to rent a forklift and 18 wheeler.
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Is that a UK spelling or something? In AMERICA, we spell that vengeance.
Here in Norway, we do everything with a vengeance... even spelling. And we spell our country's name with only one capital letter.
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So now we finally know who's been dumb enough to reply to all the penis spam.