NJ scam alert — sender has been following your ‘pathetic life’

EAST BRUNSWICK — Township residents are receiving oddly specific, extremely personal threats through email, and officials are warning them not to worry — it's just a scam.

According to the East Brunswick Police Department, several residents have received the suspicious messages from unknown senders. The email includes the recipient's name, address, and phone number. The sender even goes as far as adding a picture of the recipient's home, via Google Street View, police said.

In the email, the scammer tells the recipient that he installed a spyware application on their devices, allowing him to access the recipient's online activity.

"I've got footage of you doing embarrassing things," the email says. "I then developed videos and screenshots where on the side of the screen, there's the videos you had been watching, and on the other half, it's your vacant face."

The payoff

The email threatens to release those "embarrassing things" to the recipient's contacts unless a payment is made.

The scammer is hoping the recipient doesn't have the cleanest browser history and they take the threat seriously.

In a letter shared by police on Facebook, the scammer requests $1,950 in order to "wipe the slate clean." The scammer says the payment can only be made by Bitcoin, and a QR code is included in the letter for an easy transfer of funds.

"I want you to know I'm aiming for a win-win here," the letter says. "I am a man of my words."

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The email shared by police criticizes the recipient — in this case, a resident named Joseph — for leading a "pathetic life."

"No matter the reason they give, never send money to someone you don’t know or have never met in person, who pressures you to pay immediately, or who says this is the only way to pay," police wrote on Facebook. "Only scammers ask you to do those things."

Individuals who've been targeted by this threat, or any other scam, can call the East Brunswick Police Department directly at 732-390-6900. Reports can also be made using this site.