Scammers, pretending to be Mexican Cartels, are sending messages to or calling potential victims demanding money using death threats. The scammers send gruesome pictures of dead people they may have gotten from the internet and claim that is what will happen to their potential victims if they do not make the ransom. To make the scam appear legitimate, the scammers may have their potential victims' names, addresses, and names of family members. The scammers will ask potential victims to make payment via cash app or gift cards, asking them to scratch the pin and send a picture of it.
If you have received a Death Threat scam text message or call, please report it to the police and block the telephone number, instead of following the scammers' instructions. There are hundreds of potential victims online who have been victims of this Death Threat scam. Those victims of lost thousands of dollars because they thought they were protecting their families, not knowing the threats were fake and they were being scammed.