Photo: CBS 12
A sextortion scam is running rampant on Florida's Treasure Coast.
"It was definitely upsetting. For an hour I'd say my wife and I were bewildered as to what to do," said Kenneth, a Martin County resident.
He tells CBS 12 News that he received an email from a scammer who claimed that malware captured webcam video of him doing personal and embarrassing things and threatening to release the video to his contacts.
The Martin County Sheriff's Office says they know of at least a dozen people who've received this sextortion email. No one has lost any money. But they're sounding the alarm about this scam to make sure no one falls for this and gets ripped off.
"They could be doing this to millions of people every single day. It only takes a small percentage of people to fall for it and they make some money," Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said.
Authorities say Kenneth and others are getting an email from a scammer who claims that malware has captured webcam video of them visiting pornographic websites or video of them bathing or dressing and they threaten to release this video to all of their contacts unless they pay a ransom in Bitcoin.
"You've just got to be careful of these scams. Although it sounded very personal and intrusive like they knew stuff about you, they really didn't. They're just trying to get a quick couple thousand dollars," according to Port St. Lucie Police Chief Richard Del Toro.
Officials say if you get the email just delete it.