There are some nasty online scams out there that look so legit that they become difficult to spot, though there are warning signs that make them easy to identify.

But in this latest scam’s case, it’s a little obvious that it’s … well, a scam.

Per a report by The Citizen, an email scam that’s been doing the rounds “attempts to convince its potential victims that someone close has put out a hit on them and that sending money to the scammer, who poses as a hired assassin, will stop them from being killed”.

Far-fetched, yes.

But no doubt it’s gonna cause a bit of unnecessary panic among those who receive the email, which looks something like this:

Yup, clearly not real. Bad spelling and grammar, being hounded to pay 5 000 bucks, and a bogus username that doesn’t even warrant a Google search should alert you to the fact that you’re being scammed.

Our advice? Don’t fall for it. Read the email the again, and you’ll see that you’re probably not important enough to cause anyone to want to take you out of the picture.

Not very convincing, indeed.

Still, take care on the web, friends.

[source:citizen]