MEMORIAL VILLAGES, Texas – Residents of the Memorial Villages area have complained of a scam that has circulated through the neighborhood.
The scam comes in the form of a letter mailed to the intended target. The letter states that its writer knows a secret the addressee is keeping from a spouse and threatens to tell them, unless a payment is received.
"You open it up and you see a letter that says you may have done something in the past that I'm going to tell your spouse about it, if you don't apply for this bitcoin and a certain amount," Detective Keith Kelso, with the Memorial Villages Police Department, said.
The scammer attempts to extort $8,850 from the victim, to be paid in bitcoin.
"They give you an account to put it in a generic account. It's possible he could be overseas. We don't even know," Kelso said.
Memorial Villages police told KPRC2 they are investigating roughly five of these incidents. Fortunately, no one has complied with the demands outlined in the letter.
Investigators warn people not to comply and to treat the request as they would any other extortion attempt.
"There's really nothing unique to this scam itself. It's been going around for years," Kelso said.