The Duplin County Sheriff’s Office is letting community members know about a recent scam targeting individuals through email. The scammers try sending intimidating messages claiming they’ve accessed your personal devices and sensitive data, demanding payment via Bitcoin and/or other methods, authorities say.
Here’s what to look out for and what to do if you receive one of these emails:
- Threats involving alleged breaches of your privacy.
- Demands for payment in various methods, often in cryptocurrency (like Bitcoin).
- Claims that they’ve hacked your camera or accessed your accounts.
- Stay calm and do NOT pay the scammer.
- Do not engage or respond to their threats.
- Immediately report the email to local law enforcement or the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
- Update your passwords and enable two-factor authentication on all accounts.
- Run a malware scan on your device to ensure it hasn’t been compromised.
- Report the email as spam.
