Online dater? Be wary of this devastating scam

TAMPA, Fla. -- Online daters all over the country are falling victim to a scheme where scammers become close with a person, score explicit photographs, then use those photographs to blackmail the user.

According to the Sun-Sentinel, scammers persuade daters to send explicit photos, and then identify themselves as law enforcement saying they sent the photo to a minor. The scammers then say to avoid arrest, the sender has to pay up.

The scammers are using names of actual police officers to add legitimacy to their scheme, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

More than 100 people from across the country have been victimized, many paying as much as $1,500 to avoid what they consider certain arrest.

"It's an extortion, it's a shakedown," a local sheriff told the Sun-Sentinal. "It's not just one person doing this. It's multiple people."

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