Fake online tutors gain access to students’ accounts, blackmail to make money [Video]

Reniah Atkins set her sights on college when she was in the second grade. The now 19-year-old St. Pete college freshman recently sought online help with homework in one of her classes.

Atkins found a virtual tutor who only communicated via text and wanted $350 to help with homework. She agreed and gave the stranger a login to her college portal.

Atkins told ABC Action News that she later ended up changing her mind about the tutor. “I ended up texting them and I’m like, ‘I’ll do all my work myself. I don’t need you guys to help me work.’”

That’s when she says they threatened to blackmail her if she didn’t pay up, even though no work was done.

The stranger on the other end of the message said they planned to contact Atkin’s instructor and tell them she cheated, but she had not.

The threats worked. Atkins paid …