Lehighton Police Department reported on the following incidents:

• On March 16, a 52-year-old man from Lehighton made a police report stating that he responded to an advertisement sent to him via text message regarding an employment opportunity. He was informed that he would receive a check in the mail, which he would need to deposit into his bank account. Immediately after the deposit, he was to send $2,800 to a contractor who would complete the terms of the employment.

After sending the money, the victim found this opportunity to be fraudulent.

Borough police would like to remind everyone to be wary of any unsolicited offers, particularly those requiring the deposit and immediate cashing of checks, as too often, police have victims reporting these scams.

• On March 16, a juvenile and their parents came to the police department to report what is commonly referred to as a “Sextortion” case. The juvenile stated that a social media account, which appeared to be a real person, added their account as a “friend.”

Immediately after doing so, the actor began a normal conversation with the juvenile. In some of these questions, the actor asked for personal information and then began asking the juvenile for nude photos and videos in exchange for videos of themselves. The actor sent several videos to the juvenile, who then sent photos to the actor from the account.

The actor was able to show other social media accounts connected to the juvenile, and then threatened to send the photo that the juvenile sent to all of their friends on the other social media accounts. The actor requested items; gift cards, that can easily be spent with little to no tracing.

The police department would like parents to talk to their children to remind them not to accept friend requests from people they do not know in real life. In addition, they should not send any photos, videos, etc., that they would not want anyone on their friends list to see.