back to article Australians receive SMS death threats

Hundreds of Australians have received unsolicited TXT messages in which their imminent demise is predicted, along with an offer to avoid a hitman's gunsights if they fork over some hard-earned. The messages read as follows: “Someone paid me to kill you, get spared, 48 hours to pay $5000.00 if you inform police or anybody …

COMMENTS

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  1. Inventor of the Marmite Laser Silver badge

    Easy rule for scams, especially in Australia

    Didgeridont

    Simples

    Toodeloo

  2. bleh_meh
    FAIL

    Why bother censoring the email address on that screenshot, it's been so widely published in all media (print, tv, online) over here there is no doubt that yahoo have already shutdown the account

  3. David Hicks
    WTF?

    Why is the ACCC involved?

    Surely this is actually threatening people?

    I'd be surprised if at least a few people hadn't absolutely crapped their pants over this. Shouldn't it be a police matter?

    1. Thorne

      Re: Why is the ACCC involved?

      Because the government has a monopoly on scamming people and extorting money off them

  4. stizzleswick
    Pint

    This once more shows that...

    ...Robert A. Heinlein was correct in his estimation that Common Sense is anything but common. A hit for a measly 5000? Or rather for less than that; the hit person would want to get a higher profit than from the original contract, if he actually existed. Plus, he would be facing the threat of being the next target himself after not fulfilling a contract.

    I choose death by ale. Hand me another pint, please...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: This once more shows that...

      -- A hit for a measly 5000?

      Apparently, yes. Or so I'm told by somebody who knows somebody who ...

      You don't have to look far to find someone who would do it for a beer or two.

      1. Intractable Potsherd

        Re: This once more shows that...

        Twenty or so years ago, when I was in a very different line of work, someone offered to "get rid of" a problem person in my life for £100, or the tool to do it myself for £50. I had no doubt the person making the offer was a) serious, b) trying to help, and c) able to fulfil what he was offering. I - very politely - refused the offer!

        Life is very cheap to some people.

      2. Nish
        Pint

        Re: This once more shows that...

        I'd do it for a Mountain Dew

  5. Steve Brooks

    Warning....logic fail!

    What puzzles me is how they can claim this to be true, did they fail logic 101?

    "which clearly aren't scaring everyone into forking over the cash."

    By definition the people actually handing over the cash aren't calling the police, sure the people who do call the police aren't handing over the cash, but thats ALL that it tells us, it doesn't tell us how many ARE handing over the cash and not calling police because they are to scared.

    1. The Original Cactus
      FAIL

      Re: Warning....logic fail!

      "which clearly aren't scaring everyone into forking over the cash."

      This says that not everyone is being scared into paying.

      The statement is true, it just doesn't tell us anything useful about how many people have been successfully conned. Nor does it exclude the possibility that someone paid up _and_ went to the police, but I think that's an unlikely scenario.

      Did you take Logic 101 Mr Brooks? ;-)

  6. LinkOfHyrule
    Joke

    This is not a joke

    Someone paid me to kill you. You have 48 hours to upvote me. Do not call the police or someone promise to get killed. Upvote me now!

    1. LinkOfHyrule
      Joke

      Re: This is not a joke

      Dude you're so dead

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: This is not a joke

        Back off, or Princess Zelda gets it.

        1. LinkOfHyrule
          Joke

          Re: This is not a joke

          Yo, that's my bitch bro - back off!

    2. BrownishMonstr

      Re: This is not a joke

      Aha, having to use a joke alert because Police UK can't take jokes.

      1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
        Coat

        Re: This is not a joke

        @BrownishMonstr

        Of course the UK Police can take a joke. Just don't threaten to murder an airport.

  7. Neil Barnes Silver badge
    Holmes

    Presumably those who *have* paid...

    Are those who (a) have knowingly annoyed enough people to think that they're a target and (b) think they're only worth five grand... maybe this might persuade some to change their ways?

    Think of it as evolution in action.

  8. Pen-y-gors

    Could you trust them?

    I mean, $5K is a lot of dosh - could I trust the hitman not to kill me even after I've paid? But clearly he can't be trusted as he's already broken his original contract to kill me - or has he? If he takes my money and kills me anyway then he *hasn't* broken his original contract, so he IS trustworthy - no, wait, hang on, now he's just broken his agreement with me by killing me, so he's dishonest aftert all, which means he won't kill me...my brain hurts...

    1. NomNomNom

      Re: Could you trust them?

      contracts are binding in law. If he breaks the contract you have legal recourse available. There will even be some no-win no-fee lawyer outfits willing to help you out in a clear cut case of contractual violation.

      1. Jonathan Richards 1
        Happy

        Binding contracts

        Actually, and regrettably to interject a fact into an hilarious comment thread, a purported contract to engage in illegal activity is not enforceable. Illegal contract is illegal.

        Carry on!

  9. Confuciousmobil
    Pint

    Email

    If anyone has received that text with the blanked out email they can just send the money to my email account and I'll make sure it gets to the right person....

  10. TrishaD

    Fly, All is Discovered

    I'm reminded of the probably apocryphal story of the man who sent 10 anonymous letters to local people at random, which simply said 'Fly! All is discovered.' Three of them packed their bags and one committed suicide...

    People do have guilty secrets, so perhaps it's not just the gullible who are paying up but the occasional individual who reads the SMS and thinks 'Oh, bugger.....'

    1. Andre Carneiro
      Happy

      Re: Fly, All is Discovered

      So 40% of people have a big secret?

      That's not stretching the realms of imagination, to be fair..

      That story did make me laugh, though. Hadn't heard it before :)

    2. toxicdragon

      Re: Fly, All is Discovered

      Mark Twain and Conan Doyle both supposedly sent this message to their firends. Although the version I found says that ALL of them left.

  11. Medium Dave
    Coat

    You can tell it's a scam...

    ...a real hitman would have used bullet points!

    ಠ_ಠ

    (OK, I'm going.)

    1. itzman

      Re: You can tell it's a scam...

      I dont know what character encoding you used there, but it don't work for me.

  12. Dennis Wilson

    Simple explanation

    As it happened in Australia it was probably the first mobile phone over there. In that instance you have to expect the odd spelling mistake.

  13. This post has been deleted by its author

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: FLEE AT ONCE — ALL IS DISCOVERED

      * one of WHOM

  14. Chris Tierney
    Terminator

    Someone paid me to Kill you!

    My Reply:Send me half the money and I'll do it myself, save you the risk.

    Terminator - Cause I cannot self fornicate...or is it terminate?

  15. Anonymous IV
    Happy

    Precision extortion

    Exactly $5000.00 - not a cent more, not a cent less (thinks: there might be a book in that?)

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Err

    I'm sure lots of you have thought..... convicts....

  17. Peter Murphy
    WTF?

    For the want of a period, the ransom was lost.

    It depends how you parse this:

    Someone paid me to kill you, get spared, 48hours to pay $5000.00 if you inform police or anybody, death is promised.

    It sounds like you have to pay 5 thousand dollars for the privilege of death, but only if you tell others. Bugger that for a game of solders.

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