Think Twice Before You Press Send

Sextortion is a particular type of ‘extortion’ which happens online where demands for money are made to the victim on the threat that intimate or explicit images or videos of them, will be revealed to their friends, family, peers or their email contact list.  

The explicit images or videos may have been sent by the victim believing the scammer was an online love interest or may have been obtained without the victim’s knowledge or consent.

In order to obtain images or videos without the victim’s knowledge or consent, the scammer may have hacked into their intended victim’s computer to take control of their computer’s camera or webcam to take images and videos, unbeknown to the victim.

There have also been cases, where the scammers pretend to have taken control of the victim’s webcam and demand money in return for not revealing the images or videos, when in fact they don’t have any images or videos of the person in the first place.

What Should You Know ?

There is no shame or embarrassment in being a victim of sextortion.

You should know that consenting adults sharing intimate or explicit images of themselves with each other is not a crime, however the extortion threats and demand for money is a crime.

You should be aware that there is no guarantee that once you pay the money demanded by the scammer(s), they will not make more threats and demand more money.

What Should You Do ?

You should be wary of sharing intimate or explicit images or videos of yourself with online persons, particularly those persons unknown to you.

You should never be bullied into sending money to scammers based on their threats.

If you have fallen victim to sextortion, you should always report it to the RCIPS.

Report to the RCIPS, call 911