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Scam in Gallatin County claims email hack, demands bitcoin payment

Posted at 2:17 PM, Oct 24, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-24 16:17:49-04

GALLATIN COUNTY, Mont. – According to the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, it has received several reports of a scam email that claims to have hacked a user’s computer.

The Sheriff’s Office said in a media release that the scam email claims the recipient’s system has been hacked and the scammer is tracking the websites visited by the scam victim.

The scammer implies that the sites the victim views contain pornography, and the scammer threatens to release the information to the victim’s contact list unless the victim sends a bitcoin payment.

According to the Sheriff’s Office:

These scammers are aggressive, convincing and persistent. This is a scam. Your computer has not been hacked. Stating that you have been hacked is a ploy for them to get your money. Do not respond and delete the email.

The Sheriff’s Office also reports that two previously identified scams continue to circulate. One is a scam where a caller claims to be from the IRS, tells victims their taxes are delinquent, and they must send funds or purchase gift cards to resolve the issue.

The “Grandparent” scam involves a scammer calling a grandparent, impersonating a grandchild and claiming to need money to be bailed out of jail.

If you encounter one of these scams, do not send any money, gift cards, or other forms of payment.