BCSO issued a scam alert following several complaints surfacing the county

BAY COUNTY, Fla. ( WMBB ) – The Bay County Sheriff’s Office issued a Scam Alert on Friday after receiving several complaints about the same scam hitting Bay County.

According to a news release, the scam is an email informing a victim they have been ‘caught’ watching inappropriate material on websites where the scammer has placed malware.

This malware enables a scammer to observe and record the victim using the microphone and camera on the victim’s computer. BCSO officials said all this as the victim watched the website and obtained all contact information.

Officials said the scammer will then threaten to release the video of the victim to every contact on the victim’s computer unless they pay the scammer using bitcoin.

Attached to the email is a picture of the victim’s neighborhood obtained using Google Earth, BCSO officials wrote.

“Personal information, including home and email addresses, is often sold on the internet and used in scams like this,” Sheriff Ford said.

This is an old scam using a new form of payment bitcoin which can’t be traced. The use of Google Earth photos is also a new and often frightening twist to this old scam.

Sheriff Ford urges anyone who receives this email to delete and disregard it. Do not send any money.

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