Watch Out! New E-mail Scam in Utah is Blackmailing Residents

Imagine this, you’re scrolling through your e-mail when you come upon a message using your name, phone number, and home address to get money out of your pocket. What’s worse is that it uses a picture of your home to really worry you. 

Fortunately, this is nothing but a scam that uses Google Maps to get a picture of your home, and your phone number and address is something that’s easier than you think to find on the web. 

The St. George Police Department gave a warning to the community on social media to beware the scam. 

The SGPD said, “SCAM ALERT! There is a large increase in scams targeting people with a photo of their house from Google maps. Unfortunately, our info is easily viewed, but we can tell you that there isn’t a known threat to people who has receive this email.” 

Attached to the post is an example of the e-mail being sent to residents in Utah, as well as the rest of the country. Here’s a snippet of what the e-mail says. 

“I know that calling [phone number] or visiting [home address] would be a convienient way to contact you if you don’t cooperate. Don’t try to hide from this. You have no idea what I’m capable of in Saint George. I suggest you read this message carefully. Take a minute to relax, breathe, and really dig into it. We’re talking about something serious here, and I ain’t playing games. You do not know me whereas I know ALOT about you and right now, you are thinking how, correct?” 

The writer of the e-mail continues to threaten the reader by saying they can access your smartphone and can expose all of your “bad deeds” on the internet unless you transfer $2,000 in bitcoin to a listed account. 

Again, this is just a scam. While it is a bit frightening that this type of thing could happen, it’s nothing but hot air. You’re smarter than whoever made this strange scam, so just scroll on and live your life without fear.