( CNN ) -- Police agencies across Australia put out alerts Monday declaring as fake text messages and emails sent to thousands of Australians that said they had two days to pay $ 5,000 or die . `` Do not respond , '' said Detective Superintendent Brian Hay of the Queensland Police Service . `` Delete it immediately and do n't panic , because that 's what they prey upon . '' The messages started assaulting mobile phones and email accounts Sunday . Police did not provide an exact figure but said they were surprised by the scope of the scam . `` What is extraordinary in these circumstances is the extent of contact across the Australian landscape , '' Hay said . `` We 've never seen this before . I 've never seen this before . '' While authorities are still investigating , past hoaxes have originated in west Africa , typically Nigeria , he said . The message reads : `` Sum1 paid me to kill you . Get spared , 48hrs to pay $ 5000 . If you inform the police or anybody , death is promised . '' It then directs the recipient to contact them at a Yahoo email account . Police say seniors and those not familiar with the Internet are most likely to get scammed . `` They rely upon your fear to not think logically , but to respond in the manner in which they want you to , '' Hay said . `` I would suspect that people have already fallen victim to this fraud . '' The so-called hit-man scam has had two previous forays in Australia over the last two and a half years , according to Hay . `` This is not a random event . This is organized crime , '' Hay said , noting the complexities of pulling off a scam of this magnitude . `` They 've done their research . They 've acquired their contact lists . They 've paid for the distribution of the text messages . '' Hays warned that the criminals will be back again if their efforts prove profitable enough .
The caller asks for $ 5,000 or promises death . ` ` Do not worry , '' I say , reading the message . Similar scams have been traced to South Texas .