The Wyoming crime team that fights child sexual exploitation and the circulation of photos and videos associated with it is warning people not to open suspicious mail from Canada.
It’s an extortion scheme, according to a Tuesday joint news release from the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the Natrona County Sheriff’s Office.
The mailers have a Canada postage stamp.
Their wording “claims you clicked a suspicious internet link that provided the hackers access” and that illegal images were then planted “on your devices,” says the statement.
The messaging “uses threats of police involvement to scare you” and demands money within 36 hours, alongside a URL and a QR code for Bitcoin, Coinbase, or Cash App.
The letters also mention the recipients’ family members by name, the agencies report, and arrives as a mailed letter to a recipient’s home address.
Around Wyoming
Law enforcement in Natrona County have received at least two reports of this scheme in the past 24 hours, says the statement, with additional reports around the state of Wyoming.
DCI did not immediately return a call to its spokesman’s office to comment on which other counties are seeing the scam, among other details.
The statement encourages people to warn others they know about the scam.
ICAC agents “are working diligently to investigate these reports, track the origin of the letters, and hold those responsible accountable,” says the statement.
Scare Tactics
Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak said he’s checking to see if such reports had surfaced in his county.
It wouldn’t surprise him since terrifying outcomes of law enforcement are the leverage many extortionists use lately, he said.
“That type of scam is just a different variation we get all the time, where someone is basically threatening that something’s going to happen if you don’t give money,” said Kozak.
A common one in Laramie County is a message claiming someone will be arrested for skipping jury duty if he or she doesn’t pay money, the sheriff said.
Weaponizing the concept of law enforcement is the most common tactic in messaging extortion campaigns, he said.
“Think about it: You know that would be someone’s worst nightmare, right? For someone to accuse someone of having child porn on their phone or computer,” Kozak said. “I could see where someone could fall for that one maybe.
Don’t Open It
While the letters appear to use scare tactics with leverage, any involvement with child sex abuse material (CSAM), which laymen sometimes call child pornography, is a “falls under serious criminal conduct,” the statement adds.
People who receive such letters should notify law enforcement immediately, the agencies wrote.
“Do not open (the letter) and instead report it immediately to your local law enforcement agency” or contact the Casper DCI office at 307-261-2194, the statement says, adding “do not send money” to the sender.
By midday Tuesday, multiple agencies around Wyoming had shared the statement.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
