Alert
Prepared by the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
January 9, 2007

NEW TWIST CONCERNING THREAT AND EXTORTION emailS

There is a new twist to the IC3 Alert posted on December 7, 2006 regarding emails claiming that the sender has been paid to kill the recipient and will cancel the contract on the recipient's life if the recipient pays a large sum of money. Now emails are surfacing which claim to be from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in London. These emails note the following information:

• An individual was recently arrested for the murders of several United States and United Kingdom citizens in relation to this matter.
• The recipient's information was found on the subject identifying the recipient as the next victim.
• The recipient is requested to contact the FBI in London to assist with the investigation.

It is not uncommon for an Internet fraud scheme to have the same overall intent but be transmitted containing variations in the email content, e.g., different names, email addresses, and/or agencies reportedly involved.

WARNING!

Please note, providing any personal information in response to an unsolicited email can compromise your identity and open you to identity theft.

If you have experienced this situation please notify the IC3 by filing a complaint at www.ic3.gov.

Due to the threat of violence inherent in these extortion emails, if an individual receives an email that contains personally identifiable information that might differentiate their email from the general email spam campaign, the IC3 encourages the recipient of the email to contact the police.