Must say , Mystified i like your cynical approach !!!!
Alas in my life time i have been exposed to much worse cases of
blackmail ,,,as well as real life threats.
Email threats are the least dangerous in some way , and quite
dangerous, because i have seen , in some lists [+ngs] , where some
people threaten and intimidate others, by similar threats.
Ialso consider Chain letters of ANY KIND [ whether they promise good
or threaten with bad results `unless..`] Black mail threats.

Thus in the case of your note i will just say , if i will answer such
a note , which i would not anyway, that the threat writer is
insensitive himself....
mirjam


wrote:

ok, let's try a traditional approach:

"If you don't give me your social security number, birthdate, and credit
card numbers (expiration date, security code), and whatever else we want,
we'll shoot this adorable puppy. You wouldn't want to be responsible for
shooting this innocent, adorable puppy, now, would you? I know that a
caring knitter such as yourself would want the yarn inspector to go free to
roll in another ball of wool, cotton, or mohair. Oh, what the hell. Shoot
the puppy. Best keep the yarn pristine. See how insensitive you are!"