Blackmail threat to expose councillor as paedophile

A county councillor has been targeted by blackmailers threatening to expose him as a paedophile unless they pay £10,000.

Lincolnshire County Council is calling for residents to be vigilant in light of the blackmail attempt.

The elected member, who has not been identified, received a letter threatening to publicly accuse them of being a paedophile if they didn’t pay the large sum of money.

The blackmailers suggested that “mud would stick” even though the accusation was untrue.

Two more letters have since been sent to the victim’s home address.

Lincolnshire County Council is now urging people to report the matter to Lincolnshire Police if they too receive one of the offensive letters.

Supt Mark Housley, county officer for public protection, said: “An elected member at Lincolnshire County Council has been targeted by a distasteful blackmail scam, which appears to be the same as one carried out in the Thames Valley area in June last year.

“The victim has received a letter to their home address, stating that if they do not pay £10,000 within five days, the blackmailers will claim that they are a paedophile.

“The letter states it doesn’t matter if the rumours are false, as once it is placed in people’s minds, it will stick for a long time.

“The blackmailers threaten that if their request is ignored, they will spread the accusation on social media to family members, friends, colleagues, and to the public via a media agency.

“Please do not be alarmed if you receive a letter like this.

“Try not to touch the letter too much and call the police immediately on 101, so the letter can be examined by forensics.

“Don’t respond to these malicious letters or transfer any funds out of fear.

“As they request payment via bitcoins, a cyber-currency, you would be unlikely to see this money again as it is difficult to trace.”

For more information about reporting a scam please visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/tradingstandards.

To keep informed with the latest scams please follow @lincsts or like Lincolnshire Trading Standards on Facebook.