‘Hitman’ scams are a relatively new type of scam that you may encounter. As this type of scam increases in popularity, you need to understand what this is and how to avoid them. The scam begins with an e-mail address, which is exceptionally easy to obtain on the internet.
The scam artist send an e-mail to the victim, claiming that they were contracted to murder the e-mail’s recipient. However, this fake hitman has had second thoughts, and they will be willing to let you live if you pay them a certain fee. Naturally, this is a shock to the person receiving the e-mail. If someone actually believes this scam, it can cost them thousands of dollars.
This kind of scam profits by manipulating a person’s fear. Watching modern television shows one sees hitmen hired who kill people for seemingly foolish reasons. These kinds of things do not happen to regular people, and especially if said person has done no wrong.
There are those who have fallen for the scam and have sent money to get the “hitman” to back off. Others have been smart enough to turn the e-mail over to the proper authorities. This is the proper course of action if you should encounter such a message.
There’s a variant of this scam that comes in the form of an email claiming to be from a police department. The email states that your name is on a list for potential murders or attacks. They then ask for personal information. All this serves to do is give the scammer all the means to steal your identity. This is precisely the reason that you need to use ip-who.com/255/index.py and similar sources for telephone lookups. In this way, you’ll be able to verify the identity of the person who has contacted you.
The personal information gleaned from the victim can be used to clear out the bank accounts and credit cards of the person, robbing them of all their money. This has led to the loss of thousands of dollars as well as ruining one’s credit record.
This variety of scam is expected to become more prevalent with time. If you want to avoid falling victim to this, don’t open emails from people you don’t know. Even if the e-mail seems to be from a well-known company, if not doing current business with them, the best advice is to delete that e-mail without opening it. Even businesses like Yahoo and WalMart can be invoked by a scammer if they want to attempt stealing your information.
Your email is meant to be just as private as your snail mail, so keep that in mind. A scammer can only obtain your information if you actively open and replay to his e-mail, so try to avoid opening them entirely. The delete button is your best weapon against the possibility of a hitman scam.