Police warn Australians of hoax death threat text message
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Police across Australia are warning cell phone users of a hoax text message threatening death if they do not pay thousands of dollars.
"Sum1 paid me to kill you. Get spared, 48hrs to pay $5000. If you inform the police or anybody, death is promised…E-mail me now: killerking247@yahoo.com," read the text, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
Police and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission have warned that the messages are fake. The ACCC's ScamWatch website reports that there are variations of the same text being sent.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The phone number is listed as either international or blocked, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Police said in a statement that investigators believe the message was generated from an international account and recipients should not reply, the newspaper reports. They also say recipients of the text no longer need to report it.
The ACCC encourages recipients to report the scam on its webpage to possibly help assist in the investigation.
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