Fake hitman / contract-kill extortion scam — claims the sender was paid to kill or harm the recipient but offers to "call off" the contract for $2,000–$5,000 in Bitcoin; completely fabricated but causes extreme distress; FBI IC3 2022: 84,000+ extortion/blackmail complaints totalling $107M; consistently top-3 FBI extortion type

Extortion emails claiming the sender was paid by an unnamed client to kill or seriously harm the recipient — but offering to "call off" the contract, reveal the client's identity, or "walk away" in exchange for $2,000–$5,000 worth of Bitcoin. Completely fabricated: no genuine hitman communicates by email, no real contract killer offers to betray their client for a few thousand dollars, and the language of these emails is nearly identical across thousands of reported instances because they originate from mass-mailing fraud rings. Key facts: (1) FBI IC3 2022: the bureau received 84,000+ extortion and blackmail complaints totalling $107M in losses; the "hitman" variant (distinct from sextortion because it involves no passwords or intimate images) is consistently ranked in the FBI's top-3 email extortion types by complaint volume; (2) The psychological mechanism is deliberate: the email creates immediate, visceral fear that overwhelms rational assessment — many recipients initially believe the threat is real despite its obviously scripted nature; (3) The FBI and FTC both advise ignoring these emails and reporting them at IC3.gov — engaging the sender, paying, or responding in any way marks the recipient as a viable target and typically results in escalating demands; (4) Unlike sextortion emails, hitman extortion does not typically reference leaked passwords or other personal data — the threat rests entirely on emotional manipulation. Warning signs: no mention of real personal details, generic "I have been watching you" language, Bitcoin payment demand, "do not contact police" instruction, sender from an unfamiliar or generated domain.