The Saanich and Oak Bay Police Departments are investigating an email sent from a purported ‘hit man’.
The Saanich Police Communication Centre was contacted this morning about a disturbing email sent to a resident. The email suggests that the author is a ‘hit man’ who has been hired to kill the email recipient. Having had a supposed ‘change of heart’ the hit man contacts the victim through the email and insists they tell nobody, including family and the police.
A request for some money in exchange for the information about who hired them is made. Of course, with frauds like this, the money is to be sent off-shore by way of an electronic money transfer.
Investigations into these emails are difficult. They most often originate in foreign jurisdictions leaving few investigative avenues.
Your best defence in these phishing or spam emails is to educate yourself and be aware of these internet scams. Some clues to the authenticity of an email are the following:
• The email is of a general nature, often not addressed to a specific receiver
• Poor English, obvious grammar, punctuation and spelling mistakes
• Confusing tenses, indicating it may have been drafted by someone who does not speak English well
• The request for money is most often to be sent off-shore
If you have concerns about an email that you have received please contact the Saanich Police or your local department.
11-16465