What to do if You are being Blackmailed over Sexual Content?
Tell the blackmailer that you're underage, even if you're not.
Additionally, say you've reported them to the authorities and plan to take legal actions. This may force them to back off. They have “unspoken” rules and usually won't share explicit content of a minor in order to not face consequences. Don't talk to scammer anymore.
After saying the above, stop talking to them, no matter what they text you. But don't block them yet: you need to preserve evidence. They might message you for the moment, but you must NEVER reply. They see your replies as a weakness and use it against you. Don't give in to their game. Just ignore. Whatever you tell them — it will only make the situation worse.Save proof by recording your screen.
Make records of their messages, usernames, and everything important.Start recording your screen and capture the entire conversation with the scammer. With all the media CLEARLY visible. Go to their profile and capture username as well. If you don’t know how to record your screen, here’s the instruction.Make your account private.
You need to go to Settings ⚙️(the gear icon in the TOP RIGHT corner). Scroll down to Privacy Controls. You will need to set 4 parameters. Ghost Mode → ONView My Story → My FriendsContact → My FriendsSee Me in Quick Add → OFF
You can view the complete guide here. Block extortionist on all accounts after saving evidence.
Stop using your Snapchat account (and other social medias they may know about); the perpetrators will be striking back, sooner or later. Don’t give them a chance — Make new accounts. But don't be hasty to start adding your friends there. Especially if you are talking to other people you have not met in real life yet. Statistics indicate that out of 100 individuals who fall victim to cyber sextortion on Snapchat, 37 are communicating with other malicious actors who had not yet revealed themselves. So… Be careful! And only add those people, who you know in REAL LIFE. Create new Snapchat account.
As mentioned in the previous step, refrain from using the accounts that the blackmailers are, or even may be aware of. Such may include Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok, or profiles on dating apps. Don’t put yourself under the risk of getting blackmailed again, and create new social media accounts.Don't overthink the situation.
And most importantly, NEVER BLAME YOURSELF. It's not your fault. You don’t have to feel shamed or humiliated because of some asshole trying to earn a quick buck off of you. Stop self blame. Right now, right here. Sounds too bold? Well, you were brave enough to send them pictures in the first place. So, please, be brave enough NOT TO STRESS OUT now. Listen... At Help With Extortion, we've seen around a three thousand people in the exact same circumstances. Everyone is anxious once it happens. In fact, some are so anxious, they are literally throwing up and sleep 3 hours a day. That's okay. It’s gonna be fine. Allow it a week... maybe two. You deserve way better. Be glad the perpetrator revealed their true face now, and not after long months of so called “online relationships”. Remember, you are a cherished son or daughter to your parents. Put the negative out. Chill. Everything will be alright! I promise ♡You can alert your followers.
If you decide to do that, only alert those who you KNOW IN REAL LIFE. Still, alerting is not mandatory. It's hard to warn everyone individually and also it might be just a little embarrassing. I recommend only alerting your significant others. But it’s really up to you. Still… wouldn’t hurt… Secure other accounts.
When dealing with Snapchat extortion, there is a good chance other social medias are involved. Maybe you crossed paths with predator on a dating app, like Yubo or Tinder. Or, maybe you met them through Instagram or TikTok. These criminals are adept at human research. Think of other platforms they may know about. Maybe it's your phone number, Facebook, or LinkedIn. Be proactive and secure other accounts. Perpetrator may return. Consider Professional Help.
The tips provided in this guide have proven to be highly effective. However, if you don't wish to rely just on luck, professional help is the ONLY SOLUTION THAT CAN FULLY HALT THE SEXTORTION. Once and for all. Your reputation alone is likely worth far more than the cost of professional help. Moreover, if the criminals decide to proceed with their threats, you will definitely end up losing much more than you were about to spend in the first place.You can REPORT SEXTORTION or any form of cyber blackmail hereDo blackmailers follow through?
Here are top reasons why sextortionists won't share your content:
1. It would diminish their leverage and their ability to extort you in the future.
2. They are doing the same thing to a dozen other individuals at the same time, and, probably, they won't waste time on you, knowing you wouldn't pay. They'd rather spend this time to find a new victim.
3. It's not going to benefit them in any way to upload the images if they can't contact you and try to get money out of you - it will only increase the chances of them getting caught.
4. These people are just doing it for money. They don't care about you. If they can't get money, logically they will move on to the next victim.
Usually, posting your nudes is not something they do, but… it’s not that black and white.
For example, they can categorize you as a high profile victim, usually indicating that you have something significant to lose and are more likely to pay. They use certain criteria to assess whether a victim can be qualified as “high-profile”, such as:
having hundreds of followers or subscribers on social media
A LinkedIn account with dozens connections and your employment history
“high-profile” family member
And many others. Overall, the broader your online presence, the greater the chance of you being seen as a profitable target for them. Plus, they tend to run background checks on their victims. It’s not that hard to do, and only takes a few minutes of their time. So, they would know a little something about your financial situation and life circumstances before making their decision.
Whether you paid them or not also plays a big role,
and significantly influences their decision to continue extortion, as paying them only demonstrates your fear and shows that you’ve got money. Basically, they see it as:
You are scared enough to pay them.
You’ve got enough money to spend to make this problem go away.
You paid once. You will likely pay again.
Typically, their target is the source of income for their victim, their professional life.
All that, of course, is done with one purpose: to coerce you into paying them. Furthermore, while doing their research, they tend to determine who would be the most damaging person to contact.
Blackmailers typically take some time to conduct research, resurface and delve deeper
Into your background. Gathering information about you and your family. And only then will they get back with a new blackmail campaign.
“If perpetrators share my pics, how will they do it?”
The predator won't release all your private content at once, sending it to every one of your followers. In reality, they never do it this way. It's much more sinister and frightening.
If you are unfortunate enough to become a profitable target for them,
share your intimate images with just a select few individuals to intimidate you first.
Hence, they will threaten to share these images to an even wider audience, such as your co-workers, local Facebook community, your partner, or even your children or parents.
manipulate the situation by making things up and contacting right people in the right time.
For example, the extortionist may pretend to be your ex gay-boyfriend, whom you abused (even if you are not gay), and come with such claims to your HR at work, or business partner.
furthermore, while doing their research, they tend to determine who would be the most damaging person to contact.
To sum up,
if they really want to profit off of you, share your images, or destroy your life, they will do so, employing the most immoral tactics, and leveraging the most depraved methods.
Below, you can find an example based on the real story of one of our recent Clients.
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Let's take a look at Simon, 27 years old, male. He works as a medical receptionist at a well known health care company, making around $22.00 an hour. Ordinary guy without much money to spare. He's got a fancy Instagram profile, featuring pictures of him driving cars with his friends, on vacation, at parties, and almost a thousand followers. He has LinkedIn with quite a few connections, and, most importantly, his full employment history. He also has Facebook profile with many friends from school and colleage. Esentially, he has a vibrant online presence.
Soon after he shared his intimate pictures with blackmailers, Simon was identified by them as a "high-profile" target, and they began the sextortion campaign. They started with casual threats at first. Simon didn't comply and followed common advice: he blocked the blackmailer, and secured his online presence. He didn’t hear from them for the next day, and was starting to think that it's over. Sadly, it was only the beginning.
Extortionists conducted a thorough background check on him. In two days, they reached out via iMessage. Simon was nervous, but got himself together, didn't reply anything, and blocked the harrassing iMessage contact. He also reported the situation to IC3, and even filed a police report. Frustrated, the extortionists escalated their tactics, and started reaching out to Simon's distant friends. He was notified soon after, and advised them to block and report the offender. After that, the extortionists began contacting Simon's family, starting with his grandmother. Then, they reached out to his siblings, and, essentially, parents. Perpetrators were relentless, even though none of the family member replied to their messages.
Eventually, the extortionists started targeting his professional life. They created a false, shameful story, with compromised, but yet believable facts, painting Simon as a sex offender. They reached out to his manager, and Simon was suspended from work for a week , "in order to handle his personal matters". Despite Simon reporting this blackmail in the first lace, no help arrived. And Simon ended up giving in to the blackmailer's demands and paid them approximately $5500.00 before seeking professional help.
Seeking professional assistance successfully brought the extensive sextortion campaign against Simon to a halt. Several weeks have passed since Simon last interacted with the criminals. However, he continues to receive psychological support and is actively working on dealing with the consequences.
