A Texas woman says she got a letter in the mail claiming to be from her husband's alleged mistress, but investigators say it's a scam, made partly using artificial intelligence.
It happened in Memorial Villages, a Houston neighborhood, KPRC-TV in Houston reported.
Police in Memorial Villages say at least 10 people have received legitimate-looking letters.
TEXAS WOMAN RECEIVES SCAM AFFAIR LETTER
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Beth Sewell received a letter that said her husband of 46 years, Richard, was cheating on her.
"I'm not worried about us," Beth said. "We've been married an awful long time," said Richard.
The three-page letter came first-class mail in a window envelope addressed to Beth Sewell.
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It read "I have hard evidence of your husband cheating on you with… I'm sorry, me."
It was allegedly written by someone named Gina who claimed to be a private escort in the past.
The letter's writer asked for "a reasonable offer" to turn over photos, videos and screenshots of text as proof of the alleged affair.
"Gina" claims the money is needed to pay for their baby girl's health issues.
Beth Sewell says she wasn't buying it. "A, he wouldn't have had an affair and B, there wouldn't have been a baby come out of it because, he just certainly, he has not been up to it the last several years," she said.
Richard Sewell has been battling lymphoma for the last four years. "Boy, they picked the wrong fella to put this on," he said.
WOMAN NAMED IN SCAM LETTER IS A VICTIM AS WELL: PD
In an effort to prove she's real, the letter's writer includes a picture of a Texas driver license and Social Security card. Police say the problem is Gina is a real person who has been the victim of identity theft.
"Someone hacked into her Microsoft account and stole a copy of the driver's license and the Social Security number," said Detective Christopher Rodriguez with the Memorial Villages Police Department.
Police say the elaborate scam involving computer or artificial intelligence-generated letters is a new one.
"We're concerned with the additional use of AI to try to scam people that this just may just be the beginning of of a lot more scams that we see," said Memorial Villages Police Chief Ray Schultz.
NOT THE FIRST TIME ADULTERY IS USED IN A SCAM
This isn't the first time adultery has been used as a premise for a scam, it appears to be a new twist on an old con.
In 2017 and 2018 the Los Angeles Times and several other media outlets reported on a scam that tried to play on a guilty conscience.
Scammers would send a letter offering to keep an affair secret in exchange for thousands of dollars and that "confidentiality fee" was to be paid in bitcoin. IT too was a scam.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU RECEIVE A SCAM LETTER?
The Sewells shared their story in hopes of helping other people to avoid getting duped.
Chief Schultz says wives should treat the letters as junk mail. "Tear it up, shred it, throw it away. Don't answer it. No matter how curious you may be," he said.
You can also report scams to the FBI.
