New scam targets cheating husbands with Bitcoin ransom

Blackmail.

Bitcoin.

Busted cheating spouses.

These are the ingredients in a new scam that is popping up all over America, in peoples mailboxes.

Who is falling for this?

Men. Mostly.

Last year, a guy named Dave Eargle in Pittsburgh got one of the letters and he posted about it on his blog.

Since then, more and more men have been coming forward saying they've gotten the same letter.

The FBI is investigating.

"Men are dogs, all of us," said Mark Belvakoff, a medical student at FAU.

Belvakoff is not married, so he wouldn't be concerned if he got a letter about cheating spouses and blackmail, but he says he knows some guys who might have reason to sweat.

"Yeah, that's pretty crazy, I've never heard of that one," Belvakoff said.

The FBI is trying to figure out who is sending these scam letters.

The sender claims to have evidence of infidelity, demands $2000 in bitcoin and threatens to expose the husband if the ransom isn't paid.

Bitcoin is a digital currency, used a lot in peer to peer exchanges. CBS 12's tech expert Craig Agranoff says he's not surprised bitcoin is the chosen payment method.

"I think until bitcoin drops down again to a level that is rational, you're going to continue to see the scams going, because hey if you pay me in bitcoin, there's no proof that you ever did it," Agranoff said.

But why would you pay if you're not cheating?

CBS 12 News told psychologist Dr. Laurence Miller about the scam and he says it is a perfect setup because it plays on people's guilt and even if a man is not cheating, we all have a secret.

"So when someone makes an accusation, the normal human reaction and response is to become defensive, it doesn't mean that we have to act on that, but it's a natural response to kinda have those little hairs on the back of your neck stand up and say 'oh what did I do? what did they get me on?" Dr. Miller said.

If you receive any piece of correspondence like that, you should call the police and the FBI.