Letter: Sheriff: Beware of ‘catfishing’ scams

Published 3:15 pm Thursday, August 25, 2022

To the Editor:

It has come to the attention of the Grant County Sheriff’s Office that there is a sinister scam pervading our community.

Pretty much all I am going to say is this: If you meet someone on social media, and they are way out of your league (no, you’re not that hot), and they want to see a picture or have you video chat with your exposed personal body parts, IT IS A SCAM!

Just stop it! Seriously!

They are recording you. And then, they will threaten to send the images to all your friends and contacts if you do not send them money.

And the worst part? No prosecution will likely occur because they are in a foreign country.

It will ruin your reputation, your finances, and make it difficult to show your face at work for a while, as your co-workers and friends will have seen everything else.

Sadly, this is no joke. Help us help you by not hitting “send” when you are tempted to.

Todd McKinley

Grant County Sheriff

Editor’s note: Sheriff McKinley told the Eagle that his office has opened at least three investigations into these types of “catfishing” scams, in which criminals use a fictional persona to compromise and then extort money from their victims. Based on information he and his deputies have obtained, McKinley believes there may be many more victims in Grant County.