August 26, 2003

Ransom demand by SMS

This appears to be the first case of extortion by text messaging. $70,000 were demanded of the father of an abudcted Vietnamese young lady, Lin Phun, with a warning the captive would die if the kidnappers found out police were involved, reports News.com.

"I have your Lin Phun. Now go and tell her dad I want $70K for her release by 6pm today."

The message came after Ms Phun had been missing for two days. The mobile phone was traced back to the culprits and police began surveillance of their appartment.

Ms Phun was killed within a short time of the ransom demands despite her kidnappers vowing her release within two hours of receiving the money.

emily | 11:27 AM | News, Buzz | Add this this entry to your del.icio.us bookmarks. Digg This Technorati search results for this Entry
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