Convicts dupe US soldiers with nude photos in ‘sextortion’ scam
Countless inmates in multiple prisons across South Carolina have been posing as young women on dating apps to blackmail and extort US soldiers in a sexting scam that’s been running since 2015.
US Army Criminal Investigation Command say soldiers were sent unsolicited nude photos of the ‘woman’ and then forced into paying money after getting angry messages from someone pretending to be the girl’s father, claiming the fictional girl was underage.
In a search warrant reportedly submitted to the Charleston federal court this month and obtained by the BBC, army investigators say the scheme involves a countless number of prisoners and several dating apps, the most popular being Plenty of Fish.
“After several hours to several days of texting, the subject will either send unsolicited nude images of a female to the victim and/or agree to trade sexually explicit images with the victim,” the warrant reportedly states.
“The ‘father’ then notifies the victim that the female is under the age of 18,” it continues, stating that the ‘father’ typically says he will not involve the police if the victim agrees to pay for things like a cell phone replacement, counselling, hospital treatments etc.
“Often the victim will pay out of the fear that they will lose their careers (our victim sets are military service members) as there are compounding issues of conduct unbecoming and the fear that the victim truly believes they are in possession of child pornography,” the warrant adds.
READ MORE: Manhunt for inmate who used drone to escape South Carolina max-security prison ends
Google has has been asked to share emails belonging to the alleged scammers as part of the investigation, and investigators have identified a female “money mule” on the outside who received the cash transfers.
US Army says it is willing to look past some drug use as it looks to attract new soldiers to its ranks https://t.co/bcgdcedQT1
— RT (@RT_com) August 3, 2018
The army previously warned soldiers about the so-called “sextortion scam” and advised members to never give in to blackmail demands. The South Carolina Department of Corrections has petitioned for the ability to jam all mobile phone connections within state prisons.
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