On March 8th, 2026, at approximately 8:15 pm, the police department was contacted by a resident advising their child had been messaging an individual through social media. They advised their child provided a $50 Apple Gift Card to them. Their child started messaging with this individual through the social media application, Instagram. The two messaged each other back and forth and the child was asked to purchase the gift card and provide the numbers on the back of the card so the card could be used. The did as they were asked and the two kept communicating. Eventually the individual asked the child to switch applications and start communicating with them through WhatsApp. The child did so and they began communicating through this application until the child was asked to start sending photographs. The contact information provided for the individual, phone numbers, and screen names, has been tracked back to Nigeria. 

The police department would like to remind those who begin messaging anyone through social media applications may not be speaking with the individual they believe they are speaking with. This is commonly done through social media by individuals who are hoping to get money or gift cards from the unknowing victim. Parents are encouraged to speak with their children about speaking with "strangers" through social media. If an individual wants someone to switch to using WhatsApp or a similar communication application, to speak further, should definitely do their best to insure the person they are speaking with is in fact who they say they are. Switching to a different communication application is most often done to begin to make requests for financial gain or to begin to ask for photographs. Some of the communication applications used are used explicitly to make it more difficult to be identified or tracked by law enforcement. Please have these conversations with your children and encourage them to talk with you if they are receiving messages from strangers or are ever solicited for money or photographs.