Proudly Serving the Citizens of Beaufort County, South Carolina

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Proudly serving the residents and visitors of Beaufort County, South Carolina

For emergencies, call 9-1-1

Beaufort County man blackmailed in online dating scheme

Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office investigators received a complaint from a 41-year-old Beaufort County man who said he was being blackmailed by someone he met on a dating website.

The man chatted with the woman on the site for a while before switching to Skype, where the woman recorded him.

Shortly after their video chat, the man began receiving phone calls and text messages demanding $1,300 in exchange for not releasing the video. The man negotiated the price down to $500 and sent the money through Western Union.

A few days later, the man received a message from the woman through his employer’s Facebook account.

The man said he did not know how the woman knew any of his personal information, including his phone number or where he works.

The Sheriff’s Office advised the man to also report the crime to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.