The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office is issuing a Consumer Alert regarding a recent email extortion scam that has been reported numerous times to our office. Some Nebraskans have received highly personalized emails threatening to release allegedly embarrassing content unless the victim sends a large sum of money to a Bitcoin address. The scammer used the victim’s personal information, address, and an internet street image of their address in the scam email. The use of personal information can make these scams scarier and seem more believable.
The scammer claimed that the embarrassing content would be released soon after they read the email because they used a “special pixel.” Scammers often create a false sense of urgency. Many scammers claim that the victim (or a family member) will be arrested, injured, or otherwise harmed if they don’t provide money.
Scams can damage Nebraskans not just financially but can also affect victims emotionally. If you receive a suspicious email, contact the Consumer Affairs Response Team at 402-471-2682. The Team can help you determine if you are in contact with a scammer and report the scam.
This particular scam email demanded payment via Bitcoin. While not all crypto transactions are scams, requests for this form of payment should always give consumers pause. Scammers often ask for payment methods that are hard to reverse like Bitcoin, gift cards, wire transfers, digital payment apps, and mailing cash.
What Consumers Can Do:
Report scam emails to your email provider.
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Most providers provide guides for how to report scam emails.
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Gmail: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/1366858
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Yahoo: https://help.yahoo.com/kb/SLN26401.html
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Outlook: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/phishing-and-suspicious-behavior-in-outlook
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AOL: https://help.aol.com/articles/report-abuse-or-spam-on-aol
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Proton: https://proton.me/support/report-phishing
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Report crypto wallets and addresses to the online crypto scam databases.
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Reporting scammer’s digital wallets and addresses in the digital asset marketplace is critical. You can submit these reports anonymously, and they will help warn others about the scam.
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Here are the two biggest scam reporting databases:
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https://www.chainabuse.com/report
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https://www.bitcoinwhoswho.com/scams
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Common indicators of scams:
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Requests for payments of bills or charges that aren’t shown on your verified billing statements or invoices
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Spelling, typos, and grammatical errors
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Poorly designed email formatting, including blurry images and logos
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Emails or numbers that aren’t exact matches to known contacts
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Benefits, such as investment gains that seem too good to be true
By reporting scams to the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, you can help protect fellow Nebraskans.