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Cowichan winemaker no fan of Hitman Scam

Threatening email gives businessman a chuckle
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An email scam has targeted a Cowichan winemaker. (Citizen file)

It’s been more than two weeks now and Zanatta Winery’s Jim Moody is still alive.

He received an email on the afternoon of Jan. 15 alerting him that somebody had apparently contracted a hitman to kill him and he had just 24 hours to pay off the assassin or he’d pay the ultimate price.

Moody didn’t bite.

“I thought, ‘oh well this is interesting’,” he said, explaining the email was sent to the Zanatta Winery general email account and was not directed at any one individual.

“It’s quite threatening,” he added. “If I pay them off they’ll tell me everything about who put out the hit and they’ll kill him too. I just kind of laughed at it. There’s three of us all the time at work and there’s no name given so it’s just a random ‘pay me off or I’ll kill ya’ blanket email.”

The Hitman Scam appears to have been around for years and has been listed on the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website.

It goes beyond extortion, explained the website.

“The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre recommends anyone receiving these e-mails not to respond. In addition to scamming the victims financially, these fraudsters also hope to acquire personal information so that they can steal your identity,” it said.

While the email didn’t faze Moody, he knows it might be cause for concern if others in the community were to receive something similar so he wanted to speak up.

His advice: hit delete.

To learn more about how best to deal with fraud, visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre’s website http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca or call 1-888-495-8501.



sarah.simpson@cowichanvalleycitizen.com

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