Officials say the scammer will send you an e-mail claiming to have images or videos of you engaging in compromising activities. The scammer will often claim to have activated your webcam without your knowledge.
The scammer will generally demand payments in exchange for not sending out the images they say they have of you.
The Better Business Bureau says the threat is almost always an empty one and the scammer has no such images or videos.
If you believe you have received one of these e-mails, you can report it to the FBI.