Trans-national organised crime groups are responsible for death-threat text messages that have been circulating in Australia, West Australian police say.

The scammers pose as hitmen, demanding money from the recipient to spare their life.

WA Police Computer Crime Squad detectives said today the fraudulent messages generally read:

"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."

In a series of three or more messages, the scammers demand that the recipient send the money via Western Union wire transfer to Thailand.

WA police said they were acting in concert with international agencies, including the Royal Thai Police, to track the source of the messages.

Detective Sergeant Duncan Taylor said although it appeared that any money from the scam was being sent to Thailand, it could be collected anywhere in the world.

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/1883738

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This is a new one for me. I am familiar with all the 419 scams originating out of Nigeria, but those mostly seem to be lottery, inheritance, moving money out of the country, or dating scams. I have never heard of one this blatant in eliciting fear as the prime mover.

Has this sort of scam been very common?

I think scams need to have a least a certain degree of trickery to be called scams (although the term is bandied around freely on ThaiVisa, usually to describe any interaction between a Thai and a hapless farang who doesn't have the sense they were born with).

However, this doesnt qualify.

It is so pathetic as to be laughable. Frankly, anyone sending money deserves to be fleeced. They are a danger to themselves.

Mybe they just have a very guilty conscience.

SMS!?! Talk about lazy! Gone are the good old days when you just sat in the dark until they came in, turned the light on, and saw the gleam of terror in their eyes slowly increase as they dropped down to the silenced ruger sitting in a calm gloved hand and aimed right at their heart. Now that's the way to extract money, whilst expressing the sheer gravity of the situation.