After fielding more than 18 reports in a week, Coquitlam RCMP are issuing an alert about an ongoing extortion scam.
Police say perpetrators are emailing victims and claiming to have compromising photos, videos and personal information of them — including a picture of where they live.
And the suspects say if the victims don’t send money to a Bitcoin wallet, the images and personal details will be exposed to their family and friends.
Fortunately, police say, none of the victims that came forward fell for the crime.
“This scam can appear convincing as the perpetrators have contacted the victims directly and provided open-source personal information to further perpetuate the scam,” said Coquitlam RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Alexa Hodgins in a news release today, Sept. 26.
“We want to remind the public to remain cognizant of these types of scams and to report incidents to the police immediately.”
Here are some tips to protect yourself online:
- don’t give out your personal or computer information
- don’t open emails, files or links from people you don’t know
- deactivate all accounts if you are a victim
- don’t comply with threats or send money and photos to strangers
- keep any correspondence from the suspect and call police ASAP
To report a scam, you can call the Coquitlam detachment at 604-945-1550 or visit the online report page.
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