Police warning people about an uptick in prostitution extortion scams. Police say scammers have been texting and calling victims who are sometimes sex addicts, accusing them of trying to hire prostitutes and demanding large sums of money from them. They say these scammers have been threatening that the “cartel” will kill the victims if they do not comply, and that in some cases people have been sent photographs of firearms and severed human body parts via text message.