Cross Keller with a Nigerian Scam…

..and you might get something like this:

BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN)  — Peter McGlothin didn’t know what to think when he first got the e-mail with a bounty on his head.

“[It] is a pity that this is how your life is going to end,” the e-mail said.

The

e-mailer, describing himself as a hitman, said one of McGlothin’s

“friends” put out a contract on his life and that people were

monitoring his movements.

But the e-mailer offered to cut him a

deal: Cough up $30,000 and McGlothin would be left alone. Ignoring the

e-mail’s threat to “not contact police,” McGlothin went to the FBI.

Authorities

say McGlothin is not alone. The FBI has received more than 100

complaints about the so-called “hitman scam” from across the country.

Typically, the cyber shakedown seeks anywhere from $30,000 to $80,000.

FBI

special agent James Burrell says some people have fallen for the scam,

sending criminals tens of thousands of dollars. The FBI says they have

some leads in the case, but they wouldn’t provide specific details.

There’s a hell of a “what-if” scenario contained here, that’s for sure.