New York State Police Scam Warning! ‘Sextortion’

Most of us have heard of extortion, which Merriam-Webster defines as, "The act or practice of extorting, by force, intimidation or undue or illegal power, especially money or other property". So, what is 'sextortion'?

Part of a sextortion scam, according to a New York State Police press release, is when the scammer motivates the victim to quickly give them money by claiming they have images of the victim viewing pornographic material. The scammer threatens to disclose this content to everyone in their contact list within 24‐48 hours unless they pay in Bitcoin to have the content deleted.

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New York State Police are warning the public of this Nationwide automated 'sextortion scam'. The criminals typically contact you through your email address to coerce payments using intimidation and threats of embarrassment.

Even the most savvy New Yorker could be fooled by such an email stating they have your personal information. Often times the email will contain a photo of your residence obtained by Google street view.

The scammers will also threaten to publicly embarrass and convince the victim that they have installed software on their phone, tablet, or computer, have access to their personal accounts and are tracking their internet use.

If you receive one of these emails, do not engage or share any personal information. Victims should block the sender, delete the email, and report it through the Federal Bureau of Investigation Internet Crime Complaint Center HERE.