LIVINGSTON PARISH, La. (BRPROUD) – The Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office is investigating a scam involving the Snapchat app and warning residents how to avoid falling victim.
According to the sheriff’s office, scammers are targeting young boys by posing as females using fake photos. Deputies said scammers will send explicit photos to the victim and then ask the victim to do the same.
Once the victim sends a photo, the scammers will try to extort money from them by asking for payment in the form of gift cards, crypto-currency or a money transfer from a cash app, LPSO said. The sheriff’s office said that if the victim does not pay then the scammers threaten to make the photos public.
An investigation by LPSO revealed that the accounts are fake and the money that is moved overseas is unrecoverable. Deputies can be reached by calling 225-686-2241 x1.
The sheriff’s office suggests that people don’t open emails saying their Snapchat account is locked, don’t look for dates or online romances using the app, never send money to people met through Snapchat and block accounts asking for personal information.
Click here to report a Snapchat scam.
