New York: The FBI is investigating allegations that the newly crowned Miss Teen USA was the victim of someone who hacked into a webcam in her Southern California bedroom several months ago in an attempt to extort nude photographs from her.
Agents believe they have identified the person behind the alleged "sextortion" scheme, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said on Friday. No arrest has been made.
Cassidy Wolf, a 19-year-old graduate of Great Oak High School in Temecula, won the Miss Teen USA crown Saturday.
Wolf has said she would use her fame to highlight cybercrime, and earlier this week told the website of NBC's "Today" show that several months ago she received an anonymous email in which the sender claimed to have stolen images from the camera on her home computer.
The emailer threatened to go public with images captured from Wolf's webcam unless she would provide nude pictures of herself, Eimiller said. Instead, Wolf went the authorities. "Many victims are embarrassed or keep it to themselves," Eimiller said. "Coming forward is key to stopping the criminal activity."
