Beware of this new online scam that could trick you out of thousands of dollars
LENEXA, Kan. (KCTV) - A frightening scam is finding its way into Lenexa targeting children, teens, and even adults being threatened and coerced into sending explicit images online and money. The FBI calls it “sextortion.”
The scam messages on the surface are terrifying. They involve actual pictures of peoples’ homes while demanding money or threatening to expose someone to family, friends and colleagues. Lenexa Police say this scam is clever but there are ways to see right through it to save your money.
Beka Enoch talks about online scams with her mom weekly.
“I’m always like don’t click on anything, don’t respond to anything,” Enoch said. “If it’s a voicemail don’t call back. Basically, a no- policy.”
Now police are warning about the newest one they’ve discovered. Scammers send a Google image of your house, claiming to know where you live and threatening to expose you if you don’t pay up for their false claims.
“We want people to understand that the photos and information are taken from public websites out there,” Lenexa Police Officer Danny Chavez assured. “We don’t want people concerned that someone’s lurking in the bushes out in the streets taking photos of their home.”
The end goal is to make you think your phone has been hacked and the scammer threatens to send any private photos or browser history to your friends and family. Even though what they’re talking about likely never existed.
“It’s always scary because people in that line of work can be very convincing,” Enoch thought. “And you just have to use your critical thinking skills and say you know this doesn’t seem accurate.”
Lenexa Police received some of these emails from almost a dozen people with threatening language like: “Don’t try to escape from this, you don’t know what I’m capable of.’
Or: “you don’t know anything about me whereas I know everything about you.”
KCTV received a copy of one of these emails a Gardner viewer got. It’s almost the same. The scammer claimed to have hacked their phone and stole explicit pictures and a search history that never existed. They demanded $2,000 in Bitcoin to delete it, which police say is another red flag when payments for anything are asked in cryptocurrency or gift cards of any kind. Besides ignoring the messages, there are other steps to take.
“My whole philosophy is if you send something expect other people to see it,” Enoch said. “So, if you don’t want pictures out there you definitely shouldn’t be sending it.”
“The camera on your phone or device, if you’re not actively using that camera on a zoom call, cover it up”, Officer Chavez added.
Across the state line, Kansas City Police tell KCTV they’re also currently working between 20-30 cases of sextortion crimes against people.
In most cases, Lenexa Police find these scammers are out of state or even overseas so there’s not much prosecutors can do to charge them if they’re found. Still, if you’re manipulated to give them money call the police or FBI immediately to file a report.
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