LPD is advising citizens to be aware of a “hit man” email scam recently reported in Lubbock.
An email extortion scam that has been in use for several years has recently surfaced in Lubbock. It involves a person being sent an email from someone claiming to be a hit man. The scammer claims an acquaintance hired him to kill the recipient but he will spare the recipient’s life if paid a large amount of money. He also states he is watching the recipient and knows their every move.
These are bulk spam emails likely originating outside the U.S. and they should simply be ignored and deleted in most cases. Do not respond or provide any personal information to the sender.
Unless the sender provides specific information indicating they know the recipient such as their name, workplace, names of relatives, locations the recipient frequents, etc. there is no reason to believe the threat is legitimate. If any of these details are mentioned by the sender, it should be reported to police.
The included links provide more detailed information on this scam.
http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/hitman.asp
http://themacmama.blogspot.com/
Address/Location
Lubbock Police Department
916 Texas Ave
Lubbock, TX 79401
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 806-775-2816