Saturday, 7 November 2015 - 7:29pm |
National News

New Zealand Police investigating email threat

1 min read
New Zealand Police is investigating a threatening email from people claiming to be the terrorist hackers Syrian Electronic Army (SEA) and has set up an email address that recipients can forward their emails to for
investigative purposes.
 
In the email that is claimed to be sent from members of SEA, the sender warns that unless the recipient pays $1,500 in bitcoin, the files in their computer will be lost, someone in their family will be killed and their house will be destroyed by fire.
 
Acting National Crime Manager Paul Berry said Police are investigating the email threat because Police are concerned about any threats against members of the public and many recipients would be feeling vulnerable.
 
"Police are aware some email recipients may feel very vulnerable after receiving an email of this nature. Anyone who does feel at risk should contact their nearest Police station to express their concern.
 
"Other recipients may not feel as threatened but may still wish to assist with the investigation in order to prevent it from spreading further. We would like anyone who has received the SEA email to send it to firescam@police.govt.nz in order to help us with our investigation". 
 
Ends
 
Police will issue a further release when any significant developments occur