Bogus blackmail scams on the rise, warns Attorney General Phil Weiser

March 4, 2025 (DENVER)—Attorney General Phil Weiser today issued a consumer alert (PDF download) warning Coloradans about a troubling new trend of phishing scams involving phony threats of blackmail. While the scams—which usually come in the form of an email with an attached letter—may be alarming, the attorney general is telling Coloradans they should treat them like any other suspected scam and delete or otherwise ignore the communications.

While the exact wording and threats contained in the letters and emails differ from scam to scam, they all share similar characteristics. Most contain personal information like the name, email, phone number, and address of the recipient, or even a photo of their home—though most of this information is publicly available and the images appear to be taken from map website street views. The letters typically claim, without evidence, that the scammer has compromised the recipient’s computer or phone with spyware and has been secretly monitoring their internet habits for significant amounts of time.

The scammers behind the letters threaten to reveal embarrassing or otherwise secret personal information, often sexual in nature, to the recipient’s friends and family. The scams include demands for payment in cryptocurrency with instructions on how the victim should pay and a promise not to make good on their threats if payment is received.

“I’ve personally had friends and colleagues receive these types of scams recently, and I want to be clear that my office does not see them as anything more than scare tactics,” Weiser said. “Like many other types of scams, the fraudsters behind them use fear and intimidation to scare victims into handing over their hard-earned money. If you receive a scam like this, do not pay. Alarming as these communications may be, throw away the letter or delete the email and report it to us at StopFraudColorado.gov.”

The attorney general’s office also warns consumers not to click links or download attachments in emails from unknown senders and to always exercise sound internet, email, and password safety protocols.

While these scams do not show any signs of being real blackmail or extortion schemes, actual sexual extortion, or sextortion, is a concern. Sextortion involves blackmailing a victim by tricking them into sharing explicit photographs or video with a criminal, who in turn threatens to reveal it unless the victims send money.

Though people of all ages are targeted by sextortion, children are especially vulnerable. A 2024 investigation by local, state, and federal law enforcement uncovered a sextortion ring involving suspects allegedly preying on students at several area high schools.

Anyone who experiences real instances of sextortion should report it to local law enforcement.

Read a redacted example of this type of scam (PDF download).

Consumers are encouraged to report this scam, or any scam or fraud, to the attorney general at StopFraudColorado.gov.

###