Would-be scam artists targeted several Lebanon area residents over the past two weeks.

Jody Martinez, 48, got a start when an anonymous e-mail sender identified himself as an assassin who been hired to kill her but had reconsidered after stalking her for six-months.

"It scared the living daylights out of me," Martinez said.

She reported the threat to the Lebanon Police Department, who, she says, told her not to take it seriously because the e-mail was in her junk mail folder.

"What if it's not one of those scam things and they don't take it seriously?" Martinez said. "If you've had a recent separation or divorce this could scare the daylights out of you."

"We certainly take these things seriously because know there have been people harmed in relation to these Nigerian scams," said Lebanon Police Det. Sgt. Kevin Martinez. "It's rare anything happens, it's usually when people agree to meet someone in another country."

Det. Sgt. Martinez said the police department encourages anyone who receives a threatening letter to report it to local law enforcement officials.

"We need to know what's going on and what kind of threats are being made," he said.

Martinez is involved in a custody dispute involving her grandchildren and although she does not believe the mother is involved with the threat, she thought the timing was "funny."

The Oregon Department of Justice's (ODJ) Consumer Protection Department told Martinez that it was a form of "Nigerian Scam" prevalent on the Internet.

"We know it's not new, but we are seeing an upsurge in these types of threats," said ODJ spokesperson Jan Margosian. "The Secret Service has tracked these, and we don't know of any that don't originate out of the country. It's probably someone sitting in an Internet cafe in Africa."

Betty Lucas, 68, received an e-mail from someone claiming to be FBI Director Robert Mueller saying the FBI had intercepted a wire transfer in her name from a Nigerian bank for $10.5 million. All she had to do was contact the sender with identification and the funds would be released, the e-mail said.

Obviously written by someone with a poor command of English, Lucas said she wasn't fooled, but as a senior companion volunteer, she's worried some elderly citizens might fall victim to such a ploy.

"I've warned my clients, but that is only 12 people and there are a lot more seniors out there that might not know any better," Lucas said.

Oregonians lost $482,000 to international money transfer schemes in 2007, according to the ODJ.

Glenda Scott, 70, of Scio also worries about senior citizens falling prey to identity thieves after she received a series of phone calls demanding her bank account number. The caller said he needed the number to make sure her and her husband's Social Security checks were deposited correctly. The second caller said he needed the account numbers to issue the couple medical identification cards.

Scott said the fact that the callers had her unlisted phone number and address scared her. When she asked the second caller for his phone number, he gave her what turned out to be a promotional line for AT&T.

Scott's mother was the victim of a similar fraud.

"Older folks do give out a lot of information because they feel threatened by someone who says they are from the government," Scott said.

Reporting cyber crimes

Suspected fraudulent e-mail can be reported to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National White Collar Crime Center and the Bureau of Justice Assistance. Complaints can be filed online at the IC3's home page - www.ic3.gov.

IC3 Internet crime prevention tips:

€ If the "opportunity" appears too good to be true, it probably is.

€ Do not reply to e-mails asking for personal banking information.

€ Beware when asked to assist in placing large sums of money in overseas banks.

€ Always compare the link in the e-mail to the link you are actually directed to.

€ Never respond to spam as this will confirm to the sender that it is a "live" e-mail.

€ Have a primary and secondary e-mail address - one for people you know and one for all other purposes.

€ Never purchase anything advertised through unsolicited e-mail.