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Bitcoin Scammers Extort Bachelors With Blackmail — Over Non-Existent Wives

Danny Scopelliti | Aug 11, 2018 | 03:00

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Residents of Washington D.C.’s upscale Chevy Chase neighborhood have been targeted by Bitcoin scammers claiming theyre poised to reveal “dark secrets” to the target’s wives. Despite the claims, there’s just one problem.

Most of the Chevy Chase neighborhood’s well-off residents would shudder at blackmail threats like this. but there’s just one problem. According to the Washington Post, targets of the D.C.-based blackmail campaign have revealed that they aren’t even married.

Bachelor Party

The targets of the latest Bitcoin 00 scam were able to avoid a poorly-crafted attempt at extortion. It seems bachelor status was their saving grace, as the scammers fell-flat of their goals. These eligible Chevy Chase residents remained keen enough to spot the scam. Others may not have been so lucky, and this is due in part to the large magnitude of targets the scammers hone in on, according to the Washington Post:

FBI Washington Field Office spokesman Andrew Ames says these scammers tend to flood high-income neighborhoods, trying to fool at least one person.

Not the First, Not the Last

Reports show that the scamers targeted their victims through the postal service. One target, Jeffery Strohl,

[…] says he received a Nashville-postmarked letter from “GreySquare15” demanding a Bitcoin “confidentiality fee” worth $15,750. After his initial shock, he figured it was a scam. He posted about it on a community listserv to find he was far from the only Chevy Chase resident to receive such letters.

Lucky for guys-without-wives like Stohl, the scammer’s tactics came up short. Still, it is worth considering how those who are in wedlock may deal with the same kind of ransom attack.

Scams like this are plentiful. As Bitcoinist reported on Friday morning, the PGA Championship recently fell victim to a bitcoin ransomware attack linked to promotional material for the Tour.

From a wider perspective, these scamming attempts don’t just target sporting bodies and wealthy Washingtonians. They also prey on healthcare organizations like hospitals, as Bitcoinist reported last January.

While seemingly nobody is completely safe from this variety of attack, the unmarried residents of Chevy Chase can rest easy for another night.

What are your thoughts on wising up to potential scammers? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!

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