The email entitled "Be More Careful" was sent from a Gmail account to a Visalia woman.
It's several paragraphs long and claims to be written by someone hired to murder her.
"Now do you want to live or die? As someone has paid us to kill you, get back to me now if you are ready to pay some fees to spare your life."
The letter went on to demand the woman pay $15-thousand dollars and warned her family would be harmed if she contacted police.
Don Gallian, Tulare Co. District Attorney's Office: "People who are taking out contracts to kill you do not send you emails to tell you pay them and we won't do it."
Assistant District Attorney Don Gallian says the email was a scam-but the woman did everything right by contacting authorities and not paying any money.
Don Gallian "What I'm concerned about is other people may have received this-been terrified and sent money."
He says the Visalia woman is the only confirmed case, but they have heard about several others.
The Better Business Bureau based in Fresno says it has not received any complaints about this email- but says this type of scam is nothing new. They believe it first popped up in 2006 and originated overseas.
The bureau points to spelling errors and bad grammar, typical in these emails, which suggest a foreign-born author, and say the most important advice is you not reply.
