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MSU warns of email scam as students return

Posted at 3:31 PM, Aug 22, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-22 17:31:33-04

BOZEMAN – Montana State University students are arriving in Bozeman and with the new faces and a familiar threat has emerged.

MSU Police are asking people to be aware that scammers are once again targeting the community.

According to a press release from MSU, scammers are sending email messages claiming to have hacked people’s phones through an unsecured Wi-Fi connection. The scammers then state that if the person doesn’t pay ransom through bitcoin, they will release private video footage of the person. The scam is particularly believable because the scammer claims to have recorded people by hacking into the camera on their phones; however, we have no reason to believe that these claims are in any way legitimate.

Authorities say any person who receives such a message should not click on anything or reply to the sender, and they should block the email address. Money should not be sent to those individuals under any circumstances. If someone has or does pay money, a fraud report should be filed with the MSU Police Department or local law enforcement and the FBI at www.ic3.gov.

Reporting by Ken Spencer for MTN News