Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Phishers are attempting to extract your hard-earned money by emailing you, demanding money or exposing you to embarrassment.
Kat Schmeider of the Better Business Bureau says in this particular scam, the scammer says they've installed spyware on your devices and they've captured images of you doing something inappropriate.
"They ask you to send them payment, in this case, via Bitcoin, and they are creating a sense of urgency. They want to scare you into sending that money," said Schmeider in an interview with WBEN.
Schmeider says newer scams are demanding payment via Bitcoin or crypto currency.
"Those reports are on the rise, but whether it's Bitcoin, money, gift cards, you just don't want to send that, because if you do send it, unfortunately, the odds of you getting your money back are pretty slim," Schmeider warned. "The odds of these individuals having any of those materials are slim-to-none. If they had those things, they would probably include captures of them in the email."
Erie County Sheriff's Lt. Jeremy Lehning says scammers are essentially trying to suspend disbelief.
"What they're trying to do is they're trying to gather as much intelligence about their target as possible, and then they're throwing a scam at them," Lehinng said with WBEN.
He notes it could be anything from a blackmail-type scam to anything looking to elicit even more personal data from you.
Lehning says you can report it to police, and they will investigate. However, there are so many scams, it's difficult for them to keep up.
"My suggestion is delete it, and completely ignore it," Lehning advised.
Schmeider notes many of these scams are from overseas.
"Their English might be broken. They might speak in sentences that appear strange. That's just another red flag to to keep an eye out for," Schmeider advised.