A New Email Scam

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

A new and terrifying email scam has hit the internet, and some members of our campus community have been unfortunate recipients.

It is very important for you to have the information on this latest scam. A bogus letter, often with a subject line of “Urgent,” is sent to an individual explaining that a large amount of money has been paid for that person to be assassinated. The letter threatens that the email recipient is already being watched and the only way to be saved is to pay the sender double the amount paid to carry out the crime. This is the scam.

This death threat email scam is already arriving in mailboxes all over the world, very much like the so-called Nigerian Scam which claims that the recipient can claim an enormous amount of money left following the death of an unknown person. You can find more information about email scams through the National Fraud Information Center at www.fraud.org. The important thing to remember is that the sender of the email is trying to obtain important information, such as your social security number and bank account information, for fraudulent purposes. Under no circumstances should you provide this information to an unknown person in a transaction which you did not initiate.

However, if at any time you receive an email, telephone call or any other type of communication that you believe is a potentially real threat, do not hesitate to contact University Police at 562-985-4101 or your local authorities. Your security is our primary concern.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Stan Skipworth
Chief, University Police