The victim shared photos with a suspect on the dating app Hinge, police say. The suspect then threatened to distribute the photos unless the victim sent $500.
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — Police in Lancaster County are investigating after a man reported being victimized in a dating app scam.
The Penn Township resident reported that he sent photos of himself to someone he met online, using the dating app Hinge.
The suspect, who used the Hinge profile TXXXX HXXXXXXY, asked the victim to send photos of himself. The victim said he complied, though he did not indicate whether any of the photos were explicit in nature.
Once he sent the photos, the victim reported he heard back from the suspect, who threatened to send the photos to the man’s family if he did not send money.
The man had previously shared his friends list – which includes some of his family members – with the suspect, police say.
The victim told police he sent the suspect $500.
Police say this is a common online scam. They provided the victim with an incident number and advised him to take cybersecurity precautions.
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