A well-known sexting scam has made its way to the Hilton Head Island area in the US. Fraudsters are once again impersonating law enforcement to drain the wallets of frightened residents – now with the added threat of a sex crime charge.
One Saturday evening, Beaufort County deputies received a call from a North Carolina resident who appeared to have lost thousands of dollars to an online scam.
The man had been using the matchmaking app Hily to message a woman named Maddison, whose profile said she was 20 years old, according to an incident report from the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office. Maddison sent him explicit photos of herself but he did not send pictures in return, he told police.
Later that day, the man got a call from someone claiming to be "Investigator Jonathan Hall" from the Beaufort Police Department, who is not a real officer at the agency. The caller alleged Maddison was 15 years old, not 20, and told the man to dial a number supposedly belonging to Maddison's father.
The man complied and was told by Maddison's "father" that the girl needed to go to therapy due to the inappropriate messages "sent back and forth" between the two. The man was ordered to pay half of the therapy bill, amounting to US$3,200 (RM14,296), the report says.
Using digital wallet services Cash App and PayPal, the man reportedly sent US$2,200 (RM9,829) to the unknown suspects before calling the police. Officers told the man he was being scammed, advising him to report the transactions as fraud and cease contact with the callers.
Master Sgt Danny Allen, a spokesperson for the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, said the scam was not new and had been reported multiple times in the past.
How to protect yourself
This type of underage sexting scam is common among users of dating apps and matchmaking services. Most often, the targets are single men.
It is also yet another example of fraudsters pretending to be law enforcement, usually so they can scare victims into sending money quickly. Scammers sometimes use the real names of local police officials to help trick their targets.
In Beaufort County, impersonators have used the majority of commonly reported schemes, including:
– Telling the victim they missed jury duty and must pay a fee
– Telling the victim there is a warrant out for their arrest and they must pay "bail"
– Contacting recently released inmates or victims with a family member in jail, saying they must follow extra steps or pay for their relative's early release
These scams primarily target older adults. With 29.2% of residents aged 65 or older, Beaufort County is especially vulnerable to the billion-dollar fraud industry.
The US Federal Trade Commission says these steps can help protect residents from phone scams:
– Do not accept calls from an unknown number.
– Never give your name or other personal information over the phone in response to a request that you didn't expect.
– Do not fall under pressure to act immediately. If they are a legitimate organisation, they will not pressure you to make a decision immediately.
– Do not make payments to someone insisting you pay them in wire transfers, using gift cards or with cryptocurrency. – The Island Packet (Hilton Head Island, S.C.)/Tribune News Service
