Hitman Scam: Alabama Police Warn People To Not Respond To Swindler’s Messages

The main idea behind the scam is over at least 10 years old, only the methodology has changed. Pose as a hit man, tell someone he or she is the target, but offer to let the person live in exchange for a large sum of money.

The FBI warned about the scam in a press release almost 10 years ago, when it was being perpetrated through emails. And in a Twitter post Wednesday, police in the southeastern state of Alabama warned about the same scam being played out over text messages.

In a Facebook post on the same issue, Bill Partridge, chief of police in Oxford, Alabama, went a step further and added that the messages also contain a virus, a contention that could not be verified.

But that does nothing to take away from the fact that the messages are hoaxes, and are designed to swindle people out of their hard-earned money by playing on their fears. There is no real danger from a hit man, the only danger is losing money to a scammer.

According to Snopes.com, a website dedicated to busting urban legends and rumors, the hit man scam likely originated in Russia before making its way to inboxes in the United States in December 2006, following which the FBI issued its warning.

If you receive such a message, you can choose to ignore it, and if you feel any actual threat to your life, approach law enforcement instead of paying the ransom. The chief threat from the messages is not against you, it is to your bank account.