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- Police are warning about a growing number of email “sextortion” scams.
- Scammers will claim to have compromising search history and demand crypto to keep quiet.
- But they are almost certainly bluffing, authorities say.
That scary hacker in your email who says he recorded you visiting an adult website — and wants you to send him bitcoin to keep quiet about it — is most likely just a scammer who bought your email address after a data breach.
Federal and state police across the country warned about a rise in the number of email “sextortion” scams this month. The Maryland State Police said in a statement on Thursday that reports of one sextortion scam targeting Gmail users surged in August and September.
In these scams, someone tells a victim they have access to embarrassing search history or compromising photos. The scammers then demand money or they will release it to family and friends. They’re almost always bluffing, police say.