"Dear Subscriber", Indeed.

Ominous Text Message Sent to Protesters in Kiev Sends Chills Around the Internet

Protesters and journalists standing in the vicinity of fighting between the riot police and demonstrators in Kiev on Tuesday received an ominous text message on their phones: "Dear subscriber, you are registered as a participant in a mass disturbance."

A text message sent to the phones of people close to clashes in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, on Tuesday read: "Dear subscriber, you are registered as a participant in a mass disturbance."

While it was unsigned, and local phone companies denied sending it, the text message -- which echoed language in a new law making it a crime to participate in protests deemed violent -- was widely read as a warning from the government.