24 Jul 2012

Text threats in Australia

5:12 am on 24 July 2012

Thousands of people in Australia have received a text message threatening they will be killed unless they pay $A5000.

The message says the sender has been hired to kill the recipient and demands the cash be sent to an online account. It warns the person not to contact the police.

Police in several states are investigating the scam.

The ABC reports they believe the texts were generated from an international account and say there is no credibility to the threats.

People are advised not to reply by text or email. However, the ABC reports some people have already been conned.