Northumbria Police: Online Blackmail Warning
Northumbria Police has seen a rise in an online scam.
Northumbria Police has seen a rise in an online scam.
The force say online blackmailers are targeting North East victims on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Skype.
‘Sextortion’ sees a victim being lured by another person online into undressing and sometimes performing intimate acts in front of a webcam.
The victim later finds out that this footage has been secretly recorded and they then receive threats that it will be posted online or shown to their contacts on social media unless a fee - usually a substantial amount of money - is paid.
One of the men who it has happened to has told us about how he felt.
The man, who lives in Newcastle, but doesn't want to be named said: "I didn't know how to deal with it, I didn't know anything about it.
"I just felt angry, scared and afraid."
Detective Chief Inspector Paul Milner, Northumbria Police lead for extortion, said:
"Men and women of any age and from anywhere can fall victim to this so we would advise all internet users not to get lured into compromising situations online.”
"Always remember, what goes online can stay online - even if something is deleted from one site, others may have copied and shared it across the internet. Our advice would be don't do anything online that you wouldn't ever do in public or want to be seen in public.” "The impact on the victim can be devastating but people need to know help is available at any time. We understand victims may feel embarrassed but they can be reassured that officers will carry out enquiries with the absolute sensitivity."
"People are advised to update the privacy settings on their social networking accounts to allow only those that know them to view their account.”
If it has happened to you get in touch with Northumbria Police.
Or you can go to CEOP or the National Crime Agency.