Police in North Haven are warning residents about a frightening scam after someone claiming to be involved in a drug cartel threatened to kill a resident and the resident’s family.
Police said the victim reported receiving a text in Spanish, as well as additional messages, and the sender demanded that money be wired to them or the victim and their family would be killed.
The sender had personal information, including the victim’s name, date of birth and address – information typically available through public records searches.
The follow-up text messages included graphic photos of people who were killed, tortured or mutilated people, as well as weapons, according to police.
Several of these photos were found online on different forums and sites, police said.
They said there have been similar incidents in several states over the last several years and police warn not to engage the sender by text message, but to save the message, block the number, and file a report.
