OKEECHOBEE — A local man told a deputy he is in fear for his life after becoming involved in an internet scam.
Deputy Devon Satallante, of the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO), indicated in his report the 29-year-old victim began receiving threats May 6.
“He has been talking to a woman over a web site called ‘Whatapp,’” stated the deputy.
The victim then began receiving text messages from an unknown number that threatened to harm him. Whoever was sending those texts claimed to be the woman’s boyfriend.
The frightened victim blocked that phone number, noted the deputy.
“Not too long after he blocked the number, he then began receiving text messages from another unknown number out of California. The subject told him to send him money for talking to his girlfriend,” stated Deputy Satallante. “The subject told him if he does not send him the money, he would kill (the local man) and his family.
“Today (May 8), the (victim) began receiving pictures of guns and bodies from the unknown number,” added the deputy.
That phone number is 805-214-0353. Area code 805 covers a four-county area in California, and such cities as Oxnard, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo
To add to the victim’s fears, he reportedly told Deputy Satallante he had sent photos of himself to the woman.
“From those pictures, the subject told him (the victim) they know who he is now and where he lives,” pointed out the deputy’s report.
Deputy Satallante went on to explain that he told the man this is a scam to extract money from him. Furthermore, the deputy advised the victim to not send the scammer any money, to block the phone number, stop all contact with the person on the web site and to ignore any messages from the unknown phone number.