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Love With A Side Of Extortion? Police Investigate Multiple Cases Of Dating App Swindling

ANN ARBOR (WWJ) - Ann Arbor police are warning people about social dating apps.

Detectives are working several extortion cases after hackers accessed personal accounts of individuals using various dating apps.

Police say the hackers contact the victims and claim to be in possession of sexually explicit photos of underage females that were purportedly found on their social media accounts. The hackers identify themselves as Ann Arbor Police detectives and demand payment in the form of a green dot card or other similar transaction, threatening criminal prosecution if the victims don't pay up.

The hackers have also been using the identities of current officers, according to police.

Detective Lieutenant Matthew Lige said police don't conduct investigations in this manner, and these solicitations are completely bogus.

"We are gathering intelligence that this latest online scam has been perpetrated in several communities in southeast Michigan," said Lige. "We're in the early phases of tracking this down, but we're going to work to identify the hacker. Provided we can do that, there are a number of felony charges that could arise out of the investigation when we get to that point."

Anyone who believes they may have fallen victim to this scheme, or who has any other information, is asked to contact police at 734-794-6930.

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