The Snoqualmie Police Department is urging residents not to respond to the latest version of the “sextortion” scam that includes photos of targeted victims’ homes.
Recently there have been several incidents of “sextortion” attempts in Snoqualmie and North Bend that have victims concerned for their safety. These scams are familiar to law enforcement. Suspects attempt to extort money from the victim by telling them they have embarrassing sexual data (photographs, videos, etc.) that will be released to family or friends if they do not pay.
The Pegasus “sextortion” scam is an AI-generated scam where victims receive an email containing personal information and a ransom threat in a PDF, which includes their address and a Google Maps photo of the victim’s house. Some information is from open source, and some information is most likely from other security breaches. The email tells the victim they have 24 hours to pay up, or embarrassing images or information about them will be released to their contacts, family and friends.
The remaining sections of the two-page ‘sextortion’ message - which arrives as a PDF attachment - include elements seen in most previous sextortion waves. Those include claims that the extortionist has installed malware on your computer. In this case, the scammer claims the spyware is called “Pegasus,” and that they are watching everything you do on your machine.
This is a scam. The Snoqualmie Police Department urges residents who receive scam emails not to respond and not to pay the ransom. Delete the email!
According to the FBI, here are some things you can do to avoid becoming a victim:
- Never send compromising images of yourself to anyone, no matter who they are, or who they say they are.
- Don’t open attachments from people you don’t know and be wary of opening attachments even from those you do know.
- Turn off (or cover) any web cameras when you are not using them.
If you believe you are a victim of a sextortion scam, whether it is the Pegasus sextortion scam or otherwise, you should contact your local FBI office by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI.
See example scam email below.