A prominent businessperson in Washington Parish received a threatening email on Oct. 19, but the email is an obvious scam and an attempt to extort money, according to Chief Deputy Mike Haley of the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Haley said that the sender’s identity was revealed as, “My nickname in darknet is timotheus34.” The sender then went on to say, “I hacked this mailbox more than six months ago, through it I infected your operating system with a virus (trojan) created by me and have been monitoring you for a long time. I have access to all of your accounts, social networks, email, browsing history. Accordingly, I have the data of all your contacts, files from your computer, photos and videos. I was struck by the intimate content sites that you occasionally visit. I took screenshot through the camera of your device, synchronizing with what you are watching.”

Haley said the sender then went to the heart of the email stating, “I think you do not want all your contacts to get these files, right? If you are of the same opinion, then I think that $832 is quite a fair price to destroy the dirt I created.” The sender then provides a bitcoin wallet number and says, “As soon as the amount is received, I guarantee that the data will be deleted. I do not need it. Otherwise, these files and history of visiting sites will get all your contacts from your device. Also, I’ll send to everyone your contact access to your email and access logs, I have carefully saved it!”

The email is obviously a scam, Haley said. The sender, whose sentence structure indicates is likely from another country, is phishing for vulnerable persons who might have visited inappropriate sites, he added.

Washington Parish Sheriff Randy Seal agreed and also commented on the scam email.

“This is a scam! If you receive such an email, delete it immediately,” Seal said. “Email scammers are no different from telephone scammers. They are unscrupulous persons who use threats and intimidation to steal your money. Don’t fall for these scams.

“If you do receive an email scam and wish to report it, you may do so through the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov. Go to the website and follow the link to file a complaint about an email scam.”