Spam artists try new tactic -- death threats

First, it was e-mail from a Nigerian general looking to offload his gold. Then came the notes from "customer service" representatives from a bank you've never heard of.

Now the spam artists are trying something new -- death threats.

Seattle police are encouraging residents to ignore the hoax e-mails in which the sender threatens to send a hired assassin if recipients don't fork over thousands of dollars.

Officer Jeff Kappel said recipients of the e-mails should trash them. Responding tells the senders they've found a working account.

Stressing that the threat is bogus, Kappel said Seattle authorities became involved after an alarming e-mail was sent to a church earlier this spring.

Information on this and other scams is available at IC3.gov, the federal Internet Crimes Complaint Center.