STUDIO CITY—A recent blackmail scam is demanding bitcoin as payment to keep information from leaking about potential extramarital affairs.

Last week, residents around the Los Angeles area received a letter demanding thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency Bitcoin in exchange for supposed “dirt” on the recipient. ABC 7 News reported that the sender of such letters, who goes under pseudonyms like BlueGene14, claims to possess information that can paint the reader as disloyal to their so-called wife, her friends, family and neighbors.

The recipient of the letter can ignore the letter and allow the sender to spread the “evidence” to one’s spouse or pay the requested 15,550 in Bitcoin.

The letters appeared throughout various Southern California cities including Studio City, Beverly Hills, Sherman Oaks and Santa Barbara, starting in July. Similar scam letters have occurred in towns across the nation like Tredyffrin Township, Pennsylvania.

The letter which begins with, “I’m going to cut to the chase,” and ends with “­…I have taken steps to ensure this letter cannot be traced back to me,” even includes the recipient’s personal information including their name, street address and neighborhoods.

Officials from the Los Angeles Police Department are warning residents to be aware of the scam.