FBI warns of twist in extortion phishing scam | CNET News.com
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FBI officials are warning users of a new phishing scam that plays off a recent round of bogus extortion threats.

The initial e-mails phishing for personal information were sent around last month, purportedly from a would-be hit man demanding users pay an extortion fee of thousands of dollars, or face death, according to an FBI advisory.

The e-mail recipients were informed the so-called hit man had been hired by their friend to knock them off, but the hit man would forgo the job as long as a payment of several thousand dollars was made, according to the FBI advisory. Users were asked to quickly respond to the bogus e-mail and provide their telephone number.