Brighton Police confirm new financial email scams that use photos of victim’s homes

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) – Brighton Police Department is warning the public of a new online financial scam that is being reported.

According to BPD, the scam perpetrators email unsuspecting victims claiming they have captured inappropriate videos and photos of the victim. Perpetrators then attach a Google image of the victim’s home in an attempt to further persuade them that the email is serious.

“Sometimes the most recent reports that we’ve gotten, they’ve actually had Google images of their homes,” Sergeant Julio Montes with Brighton Police told News 8 Wednesday.

The perpetrators then threaten to release the alleged videos or photos unless the victim sends money or BITCOIN through a QR code.

An example of a recent email scam reported to police reads as follows:

“Well, You’ve been treading on thin ice with your browsing habits, scrolling through those filthy videos and venturing into the darker corners of cyberspace. I installed a Spyware called ‘Pegasus’ on a app you frequently use. Pegasus is a spyware that is designed to be covertly and remotely installed on mobile phones running iOS and Android. And when you got busy enjoying those videos, your smartphone started out functioning as a RDP (Remote Control) which allowed me complete control over your device. I can look at everything on your display, flick on your camera and mic, and you wouldn’t have a clue. Oh, and I have got access to all your emails, contacts, and social media accounts too.”

With scams similar to this one popping up in recent months, News 8’s Gio Battaglia asked Sergeant Montes: Don’t you think by now people would recognize

“People get scared, especially if they’re elderly and they don’t understand a lot of our information is on the internet,” Sergeant Montes said. “Your address, your name, your phone number, could be on there. So this is stuff that these hackers have, and they use it to their advantage. And if they send it to somebody who may not understand how computers work or anything, they may think that, ‘Yeah, these people have images or videos that they’ve recorded me or some sort of image, and they end up falling for it, and they’ll go send money. That’s what we’re trying to avoid.”

BPD warns the public that this is a scam and says to not respond to the email and to never send any money.

In August, News 8 spoke with Sergeant Montes about scammers using sextortion tactics through social media or gaming platforms to target teens. Wednesday, Sergeant Montes said with this latest scam, everyone is fair game.

“It’s lucrative, and it continues to happen,” Sergeant Montes said. “As soon as the word gets out about a certain scam, and people realize, ‘Hey, it’s a scam,’ [the scammers have] already created another one and another one and another one, and they just keep coming.”

Sergeant Montes gives this advice:

• If you see an email from an address you do not recognize and is unexpected, don’t open it
• Block any email address that poses these threats
• Watch out for spelling errors in emails, that is a good indication it is from a scammer
• Stay alert about what is circulating online

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