At least two police departments have reported residents being targeted.
Pohatcong Township police are warning residents to be leery when receiving communications from strangers over Facebook.
Slate Belt Regional police earlier this month said at least two resident were targeted in the new social media scam. Pohatcong Township police now are reporting township residents also being targeted in the scam.
The scam begins with a "friend request" over Facebook from someone the person does not know, Slate Belt Regional police Chief David Mettin said. The scam typically involves a woman becoming "friends" with a man, he said.
Once the "friend request" is accepted, the woman begins communication via Facebook Messenger and ultimately asks the male to video chat on Skype, police said.
Slate Belt residents targeted in new Facebook scam
In the scam, the woman then sends nude photos of herself and asks the male to reciprocate; often asking for a video of a sex act. Once the photos and videos are received from the victim, the scammer then attempts to extort money from the victim and threatens to upload the images to the male's Facebook page for all his family and friends to view.
Police said a link to a Western Union account is then sent to the victim with instructions on how to send money to the scammer.
In the cases encountered by Slate Belt Regional police, the transaction is being sent overseas, Mettin said.
Pohatcong Township police said when residents didn't send money, scammers sent over photographs. The department last week took to Facebook to alert the public.
"Be suspicious of friend requests from people you don't know," Pohatcong Township police said.
Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.