On Tuesday morning, the Muscatine County Sheriff’s Office was informed of two of the same reports from two different areas of Muscatine County. The Sheriff’s Office says these scams are new the area.
Each victim was sent e-mails, and each e-mail contained what appears to be a Google Maps image of the victims’ residence. The scammer addresses the victims by name and refers to their home address. The scammer claims to have been “keeping tabs” on the victim through malware they installed on the victim’s device. The scammer gives the victims a bitcoin address or QR code and an amount of money to pay, otherwise the scammer claims they will release information which would humiliate the victim. The typed documents to the victims are lengthy, and are sectioned out using bold lettering.
Authorities advised anyone to refrain from opening e-mails, or sending money, to any individuals you they not know.