Crime & Safety

2 Nutley Residents Get ‘Suspicious’ Bitcoin Emails: PD

One of the Nutley residents got an email that threatened to release a video of them doing "inappropriate things," police said.

NUTLEY, NJ — Nutley residents reported a pair of suspicious, Bitcoin-related incidents on the same day last week. One of the victims was threatened with an alleged video of them doing "inappropriate things," authorities said.

According to the Nutley Police Department, the following incidents were reported on July 30:

  • “Headquarters received a report regarding harassment. The victim stated they received an email displaying their email password and telling them to send $1,200 worth of Bitcoin within 24 hours to a specific Bitcoin IP address or the actor would send out a derogatory video of the victim to all the contacts on their email. The victim was advised that they can sign a harassment complaint if the party/actor were to be identified.”
  • “Headquarters received a walk-in report regarding a suspicious incident. The victim stated they received an email from a party/actor that stated they had the victim’s password, and installed a malware on their account, and obtained all of their contacts. They advised the victim to send $3,200 worth of Bitcoin to a Bitcoin address within 24 hours or they would release a video of the victim doing ‘inappropriate things.’ The victim was advised to not answer the email and if the party/actor was to be identified, they would have the right to sign a complaint with the Nutley Municipal Court.”

Other Bitcoin-related thefts have recently been reported in New Jersey.

In December 2017, the Verona Police Department reported that a resident received a letter from someone in Nashville, Tennessee demanding that he send them $2,500 worth of Bitcoins. In return, the letter-sender promised to stay quiet about an "affair" that the resident was having.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Support These Local Businesses

+ List My Business

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.