Police Warn Of 'Hitman' Scam In Torrance

TORRANCE (CBSLA.com) — Police warned the public Wednesday against a recent scam that threatens to kill people unless money is sent to an alleged assassin.

According to the Torrance Police Department, this is known as the "hitman" scam, and has been reported all over the world.

Officers explained the scam is primarily sent through email, but can also be sent through test message.

Suspects claim to be an assassin who was hired to kill the receiver of the email or text. Their messages claim they will spare lives if a large sum of money is sent, detectives reported.

According to police, the suspects claim they are watching, and police should not be notified after receiving the message.

Officers said these emails and text messages are being sent randomly to thousands of addresses and phone numbers.

If you reply to the message, it will alert the suspect there is a live account, which will most likely encourage them to send more threatening demands.

Upon receiving a message similar to this nature, do not be alarmed as it is only a scam, police said.