The AARP has issued a warning to its members: Don’t send nude photos.
It may sound crazy, but the warning is in response to a new scam in which its victims are convinced to send nude photos, only to be blackmailed into forking over thousands of dollars to prevent having them posted online.
Amy Nofziger, director of victim support for the AARP Fraud Watch Network, tells the Detroit Free Press that she’s heard from several victims about the nude photo scam, which she says has been on the rise since the fall.
“Could they send it to somebody’s mother if they had her email address? Absolutely,” she said.
But she argues that the odds are really good that the scammers only want your money. They’re not going to really expose your private, er, moments.
The first line of defense is not to play along when someone you’ve been chatting with online — and never is available to meet in person — asks you to send a photo that you’d never want to show up anywhere else.