CLEVELAND — The Portage County Sheriff’s Office is warning parents to educate their children about a new scam targeting teenagers on the social media app Snapchat.
The sheriff’s office says it has received several reports over the past weekend about a scammer or scammers requesting teenagers on Snapchat, asking to be their “Sugar Daddy” or “Sugar Mama.”
The scammer will tell the teenager that all it involves is sending them good morning and goodnight messages and paying attention to them.
In exchange, the scammer will pay them money and send a large check worth thousands of dollars.
The scammer will ask the teenager to return a portion of the money or send it to the scammer’s “child.”
Once the teenager sends the money, the scammer will have access to his or her bank account and empty it out.
“Parents, please educate your children on this scam. It is important that your child knows not to talk to strangers they meet on the internet. These unfortunate situations are present every day, and it is critical to inform your child of these fraudulent activities. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is,” said Chief Deputy Ralph Spidalieri.
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