Extortion email scam threatens recipient with “acid in the face”
An extortion email scam is telling recipients that they will have acid thrown in their face unless they pay the sender of the email a large sum of money.
But worry not, it’s just a scam designed to panic recipients into handing their hard earned money over to crooks.
The author of the scam email claims to be what is presumably some type of mercenary-for-hire. They explain in the email that someone has paid a lot of money to inflict some pretty serious damage to the recipient of the email – namely throwing acid in their face. According to the email, the recipient can save themselves, however. Pay up, and the mercenary calls off the job, and even claims to give you the identity of the person who initiated the job in the first place.
An example of this scam that came across our own trap inboxes can be seen below in its very own broken English glory.
Hey
I run a website in the darknet,I produce all kinds of services – above all it is damage to property and injury.In general,all but the killings.Often this happens because of rejected love or competition at workplace.This month he talked me and set me the mission of empty acid in your face.Standard practice – fast,hurts,for life.Without too much fuss.I get receive only after completing the task.Thus, now I propose you send money to me to be inactive,I suggest this to nearly all the victims.If I do not receive money from you, then my person will fulfill the task.If you transfer me money,in addition to my inaction,I will give you the information that I have about the customer.After completing the task, I always waist the performer,so I have a selection,to get $1350 from you for information about the customer and my inaction,or to receive $ 4000 from the customer,but with a high probability of waisting the performer.
I’m getting paid in Bitcoin,its my BTC address – 1FhLzX7Xzq2EXySBH8zAuNFdeAMCP5grA8
The amount I told above12 hours to transfer, and bear in mind that clock is ticking…
This particular extortion scam is a close derivative of the existing “hitman” or “assassin” scam where crooks claim to be an assassin-for-hire, and the recipient has a chance to call off the ‘hit’ by sending the assassin a hefty fee in order to save themselves.
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Of course the hitman scan is just a scam, and there is no real hitman or hit job. And that also applies to this scam email, since there is no job, no mercenary and no one willing to pay money to inflict damage on you. It’s all just a story designed to get you digging into your wallet.
It’s also another demonstration that cyber crooks will delve to some really dark places if they think they can make a few bucks. If you get this particular email, pop it in the recycle bin where it belongs.
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