# Who do report threatening spam to? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 19, 2008, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-report-threatening-spam-to/441958 "2008-03-19T17:22:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![masterofnone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@masterofnone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masterofnone)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2008, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-report-threatening-spam-to/441958/1 "2008-03-19T17:22:03Z")
I got an email this morning that said that a contract had been taken out on my life, and I could pay $40k to cancel it and get evidence against the person who took out the contract. Obviously spam, but very threatening. This has to be something the authorities would pursue more vigorously than your average nigerian or UK lottery windfall spam, but I don’t know who to report it to. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2008, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-report-threatening-spam-to/441958/2 "2008-03-19T17:35:26Z")
Why not report to your local police, and get their advice? ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-report-threatening-spam-to/441958/3 "2008-03-19T17:39:47Z")
[QUOTE=Giles] Why not report to your local police, and get their advice? [/QUOTE] I guarantee your “local police” know dick-all about such a thing compared to the average doper. Is there actually a police station in this country that wouldn’t laugh you out the front door if you walked in and told them about that email? To the OP: do nothing. Who cares. You know it’s fake. I know it’s fake. It’s some asshole in Russia trying to get your bank account number. You’re not getting any more done than if you took offense because he wants you to get “A BULkY P0L3!!!” ---
**Author:** ![masterofnone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@masterofnone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masterofnone)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2008, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-report-threatening-spam-to/441958/4 "2008-03-19T17:44:08Z")
[QUOTE=Giles] Why not report to your local police, and get their advice? [/QUOTE] Because it’s obviously spam, and we have a bunch of small town hick cops who probably would have trouble turning on a computer, so I doubt they’d know what to do. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2008, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-report-threatening-spam-to/441958/5 "2008-03-19T17:49:23Z")
Email them back: “Thanks for the offer, but it’s ok now. I shot the asshole myself.” ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2008, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-report-threatening-spam-to/441958/6 "2008-03-19T17:53:27Z")
**The Loaded Dog** wins! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-report-threatening-spam-to/441958/7 "2008-03-20T00:04:39Z")
[The FBI has some information](http://www.fbi.gov/cyberinvest/escams.htm) (scroll down to near the bottom of the page). ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-report-threatening-spam-to/441958/8 "2008-03-20T00:07:19Z")
I gotta say that’s a pretty good scam though. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-report-threatening-spam-to/441958/9 "2008-03-20T02:02:25Z")
[Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/hitman.asp). As Barbara says down towards the bottom, if there _any_ evidence that the sender knows you or your habits? Has your name? Says where he’s followed you? Knows your address or phone number? If so, contact the police. If not, laugh and delete. ---
**Author:** ![Mongo\_Ponton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Mongo\_Ponton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mongo_Ponton)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-report-threatening-spam-to/441958/10 "2008-03-20T04:14:01Z")
What’s a A BULkY P0L3!!! and should I have one? ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-report-threatening-spam-to/441958/11 "2008-03-20T04:41:38Z")
[QUOTE=Mongo Ponton] What’s a A BULkY P0L3!!! and should I have one? [/QUOTE] A bulky Pole is a large Polish body guard to protect you against Russian hired killers. I can tell you where to find one, but it’ll cost you. What? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-report-threatening-spam-to/441958/12 "2008-03-20T07:35:51Z")
[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog] Email them back: [/QUOTE] No, don’t. If you email them back, their software marks your email address as ‘live’ – that it is a real, working email address that somebody reads. When they sell lists of emails to other spammers, known ‘live’ email addresses fetch a higher price. There are spammers who send out the most deliberately offensive messages that they can – pedophile sex with pre-teen children was one of them. Then the bottom of the email had a message “reply to \_\_\_ to be unsubscribed from this list”. Replying to that address did the same thing – their software marked this email address as ‘live’, so they could sell it to other spammers for a higher price. The best thing to do with any spam of any kind is just to delete it. And don’t bother your local police about it – they have quite enough to do catching local criminals. ---
**Author:** ![masterofnone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@masterofnone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masterofnone)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-report-threatening-spam-to/441958/13 "2008-03-20T13:49:16Z")
[QUOTE=t-bonham@scc.net] No, don’t. If you email them back, their software marks your email address as ‘live’ – that it is a real, working email address that somebody reads. [/QUOTE] I thought this was a myth. Since it costs nothing to send email, sending to dead email addresses is not an issue, is it? ---
**Author:** ![masterofnone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@masterofnone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masterofnone)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-report-threatening-spam-to/441958/14 "2008-03-20T14:04:37Z")
[QUOTE=Ferret Herder] [The FBI has some information](http://www.fbi.gov/cyberinvest/escams.htm) (scroll down to near the bottom of the page). [/QUOTE] Thanks! I submitted a report. (Not that I think anything will come of it, but you never know!) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-report-threatening-spam-to/441958/15 "2008-03-20T16:55:14Z")
[QUOTE=masterofnone] I thought this was a myth. Since it costs nothing to send email, sending to dead email addresses is not an issue, is it? [/QUOTE] Yeah, but sending to 100 million dead email address would waste a lot of time. Time that could be used sending crap to good email address. (WAG) ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-report-threatening-spam-to/441958/16 "2008-03-20T17:16:53Z")
[QUOTE=t-bonham@scc.net] No, don’t. If you email them back, their software marks your email address as ‘live’ – that it is a real, working email address that somebody reads. When they sell lists of emails to other spammers, known ‘live’ email addresses fetch a higher price. There are spammers who send out the most deliberately offensive messages that they can – pedophile sex with pre-teen children was one of them. Then the bottom of the email had a message “reply to \_\_\_ to be unsubscribed from this list”. Replying to that address did the same thing – their software marked this email address as ‘live’, so they could sell it to other spammers for a higher price. The best thing to do with any spam of any kind is just to delete it. And don’t bother your local police about it – they have quite enough to do catching local criminals. [/QUOTE] All correct but a minor nitpick. If you just outright delete it they get feedback and know it is a live address. Either ignore it for a couple of weeks before deleting it or better, mark it as spam if you have the facility. Your ISP will delete spam at a regularly interval, generally a week to a month after it being received, so the spammers will assume it went directly to the spam heap. Marking it as spam also benefits others as the ISP will recognise and intercept it. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-report-threatening-spam-to/441958/17 "2008-03-20T18:07:33Z")
Wasn’t the U.S. Secret Service tasked with fighting Internet crime? If the FBI blows you off, you might give the USSS a call. ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-report-threatening-spam-to/441958/18 "2008-03-20T18:27:44Z")
[QUOTE=Myglaren] All correct but a minor nitpick. If you just outright delete it they get feedback and know it is a live address. [/QUOTE] 😕 Can you please explain how this works? ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-report-threatening-spam-to/441958/19 "2008-03-20T18:39:06Z")
[QUOTE=MrSquishy] 😕 Can you please explain how this works? [/QUOTE] I get notices when co-workers delete my e-mails, but it doesn’t work outside the company. I, too, would like to know how this works. To me, they only know they have a “live” one is when there’s a reply. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-report-threatening-spam-to/441958/20 "2008-03-20T19:21:39Z")
[QUOTE=MrSquishy] 😕 Can you please explain how this works? [/QUOTE] It only works if it was sent with read and delivery receipts enabled, something a bulk spammer won’t do because they’d actually have to get off their asses and correlate the receipts to the outgoing mailing. It’s a_LOT_ of grunt work. Delete the message with impunity. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-report-threatening-spam-to/441958.md?page=2)