Maybe it's not a serial killer, but a cybercriminal

Dec 28, 2011 10:15 GMT  ·  By

A new variant of an older email scam warns recipients that if they hear a baby crying outside their door, there is a great chance that they’re targeted by a serial killer who uses a recording of a crying child to lure victims.

Baring the subject “Don’t open the door if you hear a crying baby!!!” the email has been circulating since 2003 when a real serial killer was active in the US, Hoax Slayer informs.

The more recent version targets Australia and US residents, but it can always be adapted for other countries as well.

“Someone just told me that her friend heard a crying baby on her porch the night before last, and she called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird. The lady then said that it sounded like the baby had crawled near a window, and she was worried that it would crawl to the street and get run over,” reads the email.

“The man has killed 2 girls in Sydney and is now in Melbourne and has a baby's cry recorded and uses it to coax women out of their homes thinking that someone dropped off a baby. He said they have not verified it, but have had several calls by women saying that they hear baby's cries outside their doors when they're home alone at night.”

The phony emails mentions that the case has been presented on popular TV shows, but this is completely false, along with the fact that a serial killer uses this technique to lure his victims.

Beware of such emails and refrain yourself for passing them along since you never know what malicious elements they contain. Once cybercriminals notice that these emails are a success, it’s not hard for them to alter it and make it serve a piece of malware that targets your assets.