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Suffolk mom targeted by online child porn scam

Posted at 6:07 PM, Dec 10, 2013
and last updated 2013-12-11 07:12:30-05

Suffolk, Va. - A Suffolk mom says her teenage daughter and niece were doing homework on the internet when a message popped up on her computer saying that she had been caught looking at child porn.

The message said if they don’t want to be reported, they must pay $300.

Then, all of a sudden, the camera on their computer took a photo of the two girls, both sitting there in shock.

“It snapped the picture!” said Eurnickia Artis. “And that’s what really freaked them out, and they just took off running.”

That’s when Artis called police and she says they investigated for about an hour. They’re still trying to figure out what prompted the message.

The whole time, Artis says she knew it was a scam.

“I’m a little too bright for that,” she said.

But her computer is still blocked and her daughter is still too nervous to go near it.

“My oldest said, 'Oh my God, Mom, I don’t want to even take any pictures,” she says.

Police haven’t said if they have any leads in the scam or if any others have been targeted.