"What started as satire unexpectedly became a public-safety tool. Over the past 15 years, RentAHitman.com has intercepted hundreds of real requests for violence. Some were laughably absurd, but many were serious enough to warrant police involvement. The site has since been linked to over 200 investigations involving state, federal, and international agencies, leading to arrests and convictions - and, most importantly, saving well over 170 lives."
"I learned this firsthand as the webmaster of RentAHitman.com, a website that has traveled a very unusual path. When I originally registered the domain in 2005, it was intended for an IT startup - "Rent" as in hire us, "Hit" referring to network traffic and analytics, and "Men" representing the four of us who were launching a penetration testing business. When the business plan failed, the site sat dormant for years."
RentAHitman.com transformed from an unused domain into a parody murder-for-hire site that unexpectedly intercepted hundreds of real requests for violence. Many incidents prompted police involvement and the site has been linked to over 200 investigations across state, federal, and international agencies, producing arrests, convictions, and saving more than 170 lives. Credibility assessment relies on specific details (names, locations, phone numbers, offers), digital breadcrumbs (IP addresses, emails, social handles, metadata), and behavioral patterns including repeated contact, urgency, or escalation. Separating credible threats from digital noise requires collaboration with law enforcement and careful forensic verification.
Read at Securitymagazine
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