(Pittsylvania County, Va.) – The Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office is warning local residents of an extortion scam being sent to email users containing threats of pornographic material use. The scammer claims they have a video of the recipient viewing online pornographic material because malware attached to the adult sites the recipient visited allowed the sender to gain access to the recipient’s computer and webcams.

The scammer demands payment, usually in bitcoins. If no payment is received, the scammer claims video of the recipient viewing online pornographic material will be sent out to their friends, family, co-workers and all social media contacts.

The sender also shows a password claimed to be the recipients. The sender often does show a valid but older password once used by the recipient, possibly obtained through an earlier data breech.

If you recognize the password listed in the email as a previous or current password, it’s advised you change your password immediately.