Woodbridge Police Warn Residents Of 'Hitman Scam'

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Woodbridge police are warning residents to not fall prey to a scary scam that threatens death to those who don't pay up.

Known as a "hitman scam," police said the fraudster targets their unsuspecting victim typically by email or text. In the message to their target, they tell them that they've been hired to kill them or their family — unless that person pays up.

The police department recently provided an example of an actual text that some residents have received.

"Sum1 paid me to kill you. get spared, 48 hours to pay $5000. If you inform the police or anybody, death is promised.... Text me now: 929 259 5892," the message read.

Police urge residents to not respond to any text messages of this nature and avoid opening any suspicious email attachments. Doing so sends a signal to scammers that they’ve reached an actual person. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, it also escalates the intimidation.

In a case reported by the FBI, a recipient responded that he wanted to be left alone and threatened to call authorities. The scammer, who was demanding an advance payment of $20,000, emailed back and reiterated the threat, this time with some personal details about the recipient—his work address, marital status, and daughter’s full name. Then an ultimatum:

“TELL ME NOW ARE YOU READY TO DO WHAT I SAID OR DO YOU WANT ME TO PROCEED WITH MY JOB? ANSWER YES/NO AND DON’T ASK ANY QUESTIONS!!!,” the message read.

The threats often vary in style and content but generally contain misspellings, bad grammar and some broken English, authorities said.

Anyone who receives a suspicious text or email is asked to call Woodbridge police at 732-634-7700.