Mobile Police Department public information officer Blake Brown said several people are being targeted by email scams that appear personal and can be scary for victims.
The victims receive an email attempting to extort them for cryptocurrency, Brown explained.
“These emails advise they opened a document that then uploaded malware onto the victim's phone, which the suspect is advising allowed them to take over their camera,” he said. “The suspect is then demanding the victim pay them via the attached QR code for cryptocurrency, or they will send explicit photos of the victim to the victim's contact list.”
Making matters worse, the scammer includes the victim’s actual physical address.
Nord VPN cyber security experts said sometimes the email includes photos of the victim’s house. Brown said the cases in Mobile have included photos of nearby homes.
Experts say scams are common and continue to evolve with technology.
Scammers often claim to have hacked victims’ phones using Pegasus spyware, a very expensive spyware that can infiltrate iOS and Android systems.
The scammers urge the victims to pay with Bitcoin or Litecoin, sometimes thousands of dollars worth. However, Nord VPN said it is very unlikely someone would actually get hacked in this manner. Installing Pegasus malware is very expensive and is typically only used on high-profile targets such as journalists and politicians.
Brown said in Mobile that three people reported the scam this week alone, and others have done so in the past month.
If you think you are a victim of a scam, block the email sender and report it to your email provider. Also, update all passwords for online accounts.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email erica.thomas@1819news.com.
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