Fennimore Police Warn Of New Scam To Blackmail Students

The Fennimore Police Department is advising parents to check in with their students as a new scamming trend is on the rise through social media. Police say students are being targeted by a scammer using photos from Facebook or Instagram as blackmail. They say the scammer will use the photographs and contact students through SnapChat to demand money to prevent the release of fake information. Officials say that social media photos and tags are easily obtained and can be a rich source of information for scammers. Police are reminding parents to ask their students if they have received any threatening texts or messages. Review the guidelines of social media and remind them to never accept friend requests from strangers or release personal information on the internet. The Fennimore Police Department says the best way to stop these scammers is to stop responding to messages altogether and block the scammer at all contact points.