The reported <A HREF="http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/10/12/Reported-assassination-of-Russian-spammer-deemed-hoax_1.html?source=rss&url=http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/10/12/Reported-assassination-of-Russian-spammer-deemed-hoax_1.html">assassination of an alleged Russian spammer is a hoax,</A> according to security researchers. On Thursday, a blog post on the Web site Loonov.com claimed a spammer named Alexey Tolstokozhev was found murdered in a villa outside Moscow. "He has been shot several times with one bullet stuck in his head. According to authorities, this last head shot is a clear mark of Russian hit men," the post said.

The reported assassination of Tolstokozhev echoed the 2005 murder of an actual Russian spammer, Vardan Kushnir. Kushnir was found beaten to death in a Moscow apartment, prompting speculation his murder was related to his activities as a spammer. However, a police investigation later said Kushnir was killed by robbers and his death was not connected with his spam activities.