How To Spot And Avoid The Hitman Extortion Scam In Wyoming

The Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office says it has received several reports about a new scam in which a supposed hitman tries to extort money from people who have supposedly been targeted to be killed.

That's according to a post on the agency's Facebook page.

Here Is How The Scam Works

According to the post, the intended victims are contacted via text message from a spoofed international number and told that the hitman has been paid to kill them. But the supposed hitman offers to spare the life of the victim if they are paid thousands of dollars.

According to the post, the message usually reads something similar to "Someone paid me to kill you. If you want me to spare you, I'll give you two days to pay $5,000. If you inform the police or anybody, you will die. I am monitoring you." 

The message will often include photos of weapons. The victim is given instructions on how to pay the alleged "ransom." That may include asking the victim to provide personal financial information.

How To Handle This Kind Of Threat

Needless to say, there is no hitman and the whole thing is a scam. Anyone receiving such a message should delete it immediately. The sender has no way of knowing you have received the message unless you respond.