Comcast Customers Getting Hit With 'Sexploitation Scam'

CONCORD, NH — The consumer bureau of the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office is warning of an "uptick" in reports of a "sexploitation scam" being sent to people during the past few days.

The scam, which appears to be hitting Comcast accounts, contains a current, former, or partial password in the header of the email, in an effort to gain the confidence of the victim. The email then states your computer has been hacked and the hackers control your webcam.

"The emails inform the recipients that the scammers have recorded the recipient visiting pornographic websites," according to an alert. "The emails threaten to send the videos to the recipients’ phone and Facebook contacts unless the recipient purchases $2,000 in bitcoin and transfers the funds to the scammer within 24 hours. It is unclear at this time how the scammers obtain recipients’ passwords."

According to Brandon Garod, a senior assistant attorney general and chief of the Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau said this scam has existed, in various forms, for several years.

Graniter Staters are advised to never send money or personal information to someone you don’t know; if you receive an email asking for money or personal information, you should delete the email immediately without engaging with the sender; if you receive this type of scam email, you should change all passwords immediately; everyone should consider changing on-line passwords every few months, using strong passwords, and avoid using the same password for multiple accounts; any request to purchase bitcoin or gift cards made telephonically or online should be considered to be a scam.

Anyone believing they have been the victim of a scam should contact the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Hotline at 888-468-4454 or email DOJ-CPB@doj.nh.gov.

Got a news tip? Send it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube channel.