what to do if a hacker blackmails you

Sextortion is an invasive form of extortion that occurs when a perpetrator threatens to release explicit images of you unless yous send them a bribe—commonly money, explicit images, or fifty-fifty sexual favors.

We recommend the following steps to deal with sextortion:

1. Do not pay the sextortionist's demanded bribe;
2. Stop engaging with the perpetrator immediately;
3. Document all advice with the sextortionist;
4. Secure all social media profiles;
5. Report the content to the relevant social media website;
6. Reach out to an experienced internet attorney.

At Minc Constabulary, we have proven success preventing the release of embarrassing images and videos, helping clients take command of the situation without cartoon unwanted attention to the thing, identifying anonymous sextortionists, and working with local constabulary enforcement to concord perpetrators liable for their actions.

In this article, nosotros provide an in-depth overview of sextortion and what information technology includes. Then, we volition explicate how to protect yourself from (and respond to) internet sextortion.

What is Sextortion?

Sextortion is a serious crime that involves a perpetrator threatening to publish private and explicit information or textile about you (or share it with your friends and family) if you practise not give in to their demands. These demands usually involve sexual images, money, or sexual favors.

A sextortionist'due south goal is to brand you afraid that your intimate photos or videos will be shared online for your friends, family unit members, and colleagues to see. Perpetrators use your fear against you to coerce you into paying them in substitution for non releasing your intimate photos, videos, or media.

Sextortion may also ordinarily be referred to as:

• Webcam blackmail,
• Internet blackmail,
• Web sextortion,
• Online sextortion,
• Cyber harassment,
• Online harassment,
• Extortion,
• Online extortion.

How Does Sextortion Differ From Other Forms of Extortion?

Sextortion falls under the broader umbrella of extortion. However, sextortion differs from almost other forms of extortion considering information technology frequently involves threats to reveal the victim'due south personal, intimate images or videos if payment is not received.

However, some sextortion perpetrators utilize something as small-scale as a text message displaying your texts and telephone number. This kind of information may exist compromising to victims who are in a monogamous relationship.

Other extortion schemes, while equally horrifying for the victim, apply dissimilar forms of threats and other embarrassing, non-sexual information.

Unfortunately, in today's digital age, few are completely allowed from sextortion scams in one course or another.

Webcam bribery (sextortion) is becoming more and more mutual. According to the FBI's latest 2019 Internet Criminal offense Report, U.S. victims of extortion lost some $107.v meg to these crimes in 2019. At least 43,101 reported victims roughshod casualty to an net crime involving extortion in 2019–and 47 percent of sextortion victims experience daily threats.

Once it happens, sextortion is obvious. The perpetrator demands payment and threatens to reveal your intimate images or video if you do non pay them. Spotting sextortion earlier information technology starts, notwithstanding, requires a trivial more diligence.

Listed below are three common examples of cyberspace sextortion:

Common Sextortion Examples You Should Keep an Eye Out For

1. Social Media Sextortion

With the prevalence of social media, information technology is no surprise that sextortion scams and schemes are rampant on those platforms. Near of these social media sites enable users to chat via webcam and ship photographs. This situation is a breeding footing for sextortionists and harassers looking for a victim.

Any site that allows users to meet and communicate is vulnerable to possible sextortion scams, including:

• Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat,
• Online video games such equally Minecraft, Fortnite, or Globe of Warcraft,
• Video chat platforms such every bit Skype, Zoom, or Google Hangouts.

Sextortionists will often build upwardly the victim'south trust before asking them to send explicit photos. Or, the perpetrator volition convince the victim to join a video chat. They might use pre-recorded videos of an attractive person to fox victims into engaging in sexual acts or compromising positions.

Once the telephone call is finished, sextortionists so request a ransom. They threaten to release the compromising photographs or videos to the victim's personal contacts and family members.

Minc Police force Tip: If a person exterior of your contacts has friended you on social media, try conducting a reverse epitome search of their profile photo. Doing so is an effective way to discover other websites, profiles, and platforms that have used the photograph. The photo may be a stock image, for instance, or information technology may belong to a completely unlike user'due south profile. If your gut tells yous something is "fishy" almost the reverse image search results, you should be extremely reluctant to accept that friend asking.

2. Dating Website Sextortion

Online dating websites are not the primary way online extortionists and internet harassers discover victims. However, you should yet approach them with caution. People who use online dating platforms might exist more vulnerable to exploitation and emotional manipulation due to a past breakup or the desire to find a partner for life.

Popular dating websites that are commonly utilized by sextortionists include:

• OkCupid,
• Grindr,
• Tinder,
• eHarmony,
• Plenty of Fish,
• Match,
• Swivel.

Dating profile sextortion scams take a similar shape to social media sextortion. An attractive and faux dating contour letters a victim then asks for intimate photographs, videos, media, or other information.

Once they take obtained the information, they then locate the victim's personal social media profiles. They threaten to release the images and data to friends and loved ones—unless strict demands are met.

It is also common for a victim to remove clothing or send intimate photographs to a website/application user. Then, they discover out that the perpetrator is "under xviii." The perpetrator and then threatens to send the sexual photographs, texts, or videos to the FBI unless a ransom is paid.

three. Bitcoin Sextortion & E-mail Phishing

The rising of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, and blockchain over the past several years has resulted in some of the near highly sophisticated and tech-savvy sextortion schemes the internet has ever seen.

In one mutual online sextortion scam, the perpetrator uses a large-scale data breach or hack to find email addresses and passwords. They and then enter the information into a script and send it to thousands of potential victims.

For example, a contempo hack of Ledger (a popular Bitcoin hardware wallet) fabricated customers' electronic mail addresses, full names, telephone numbers, and postal addresses available to hackers. The hackers and so began a mass email campaign to everyone on the affected listing. These phishing emails were from imitation Ledger accounts, informing potential victims that their Ledger accounts accept been disabled (in an effort to extract more sensitive information).

For sextortionists, the phishing email tries to convince the reader that the perpetrator has access to the victim's computer, webcam, personal files, or browsing history.

Victims of these kinds of scams are ofttimes given a fourth dimension limit to deliver payment to prevent the mass dissemination of such unsavory information or media. The payment method? Bitcoin.

The demand that a victim pay in cryptocurrency should raise a red flag from the commencement. This scam preys upon numbers, hoping that a unmarried person will be gullible plenty to believe that their computer has been breached.

The personal data "obtained" by the hacker is oftentimes an empty threat, so the all-time course of activeness is to ignore it. Just delete the email, change your password if you lot feel uncomfortable, and in no circumstances pay the reward at all.

If y'all are curious if your data has been compromised in a past information-breach, we recommend entering your e-mail accost at haveibeenpwned.com.

What Laws Cover Internet Sextortion?

Sextortion is a crime in the United States. However, there is a lack of comprehensive legislation regulating sextortion at the federal level.

There is a wide variance in the laws regarding sextortion across the 50 states, and many state laws fall short in addressing the complexities involved in acts of sextortion. Most often, sextortionists in the U.S. are prosecuted under the post-obit criminal statutes:

• Extortion,
• Computer hacking and wiretapping,
• Breach of trust,
• Bribery,
• Sexual coercion,
• Corruption,
• Sexual assault,
• Sexual exploitation, or
• Child pornography.

For example, Utah enacted specific legislation in 2017 (the starting time land in the Spousal relationship to do so) criminalizing and defining "sextortion" and "cyber-sexual extortion." Section 76-5-111 reads:

"An individual who is xviii years old or older commits the offense of sexual extortion if the individual:

• With an intent to coerce a victim to engage in sexual carry, in sexually explicit bear, or in simulated sexually explicit conduct, or to produce, provide, or distribute an paradigm, video, or other recording of an individual naked or engaged in sexually explicit bear, communicates in person or by electronic means a threat:
  • To the victim's person, property, or reputation; or
  • To distribute an intimate prototype or video of the victim; or
  • Knowingly causes a victim to engage in sexual contact, in sexually explicit comport, or in faux sexually explicit behave, or to produce, provide, or distribute whatever image, video, or other recording of any private naked or engaged in sexually explicit conduct by ways of a threat…."

Department 76-five-111 accounts for both the sexual coercion to engage in sexual acts and contact, and distribute sexually explicit and intimate images, a first for sexual extortion legislation in the U.S.

On the other hand, sextortion is criminalized under California'southward extortion statute as a form of blackmail. According to California Penal Code 518:

"(a) Extortion is the obtaining of holding or other consideration from another, with his or her consent, or the obtaining of an official act of a public officer, induced past a wrongful use of strength or fear, or under color of official right…"

Section (b) goes on to define "consideration" every bit "anything of value, including sexual behave…"

Many individuals facing threats of sextortion on social media sites similar Twitter and Facebook can become the target of additional false accusations of sexual assault. If you are the target of faux sexual set on on twitter, we recommend checking out our article on the discipline, "Steps to Have if You Are Falsely Accused of Sexual Attack on Twitter", as well as our video version beneath.

Video: Steps to Take if You Are Falsely Accused of Sexual Misconduct on Twitter

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U.S. Sextortion Fact: Unfortunately, like other malicious internet crimes, the U.Due south. does non accept comprehensive legislation for sextortion codified in its books. Sextortion crimes are oft tried nether various criminal statutes. Several popular sextortion cases in the U.S. take resulted in anywhere from i.5 years to twenty-plus years in prison for perpetrators.

How to Protect Yourself Against Sextortion

The easiest mode to protect yourself from existence sexorted is to avert sending explicit content to anyone else via phone, tablet, or computer. Proceed your wits (and a healthy amount of skepticism) nearly y'all when some other person asks you lot to send intimate photos or videos online. Do non send intimate photos to or video-conversation with a person you have not met in existent life.

To avoid falling victim to sextortion, be certain to use the following tips:

• Set all of your social media accounts to individual;
• Never transport compromising images of yourself to anyone—no affair how close you are to them;
• Do not open up attachments from people you exercise not know;
• Turn off your electronic devices and web cameras when not in use;
• On social media or dating platforms, be wary of unknown users who endeavour to move the conversation to some other platform very quickly;
• Be wary of new online connections who send you unsolicited sexual images that they claim are pictures of themselves. Sextortionists oft use this tactic to guide the conversation in a sexual direction and lower their victim's guard.

How Can You Spot Sextortion Scams?

Most sextortion scams follow a familiar pattern. A stranger letters you on social media, a dating app, text, or in an email. Usually, they will enquire to motion the chat over to a texting app or platform such as Hangouts, WhatsApp, or Skype.

The chat eventually leads to sexually suggestive themes. You may see the person on the other end of the video chat engaged in sexually suggestive intimate images or video. They volition invite you to bring together in the fun—but these are oftentimes fake or pre-recorded images or videos.

They just want you to send them intimate images or videos of yourself. They programme to record yous, then threaten to share your images unless you pay them. These payments are normally requested through Western-Wedlock, Bitcoin, PayPal, or other familiar channels.

How Do You lot Know Who Tin can Be Trusted Online?

Unfortunately, the answer is simple: you can never know whether you lot should trust a person you just met online.

A proficient dominion of thumb is to only trust people online if yous accept met them in real life and have a good reason to believe that they are who they say they are. Even then, you lot should be mindful of how well you know a person when interacting with them online.

How to Respond to Net Sextortion

The start thing you lot should do when you realize you may be the victim of sextortion is to remain calm.

Do Non panic, do non pay the ransom, and immediately stop engaging with the person who is trying to extort y'all. Information technology might seem counterintuitive to ignore a malicious online perpetrator, stalker, or sextortionist. Withal, engaging with them further only stands to brand matters worse.

Paying a ransom can add fuel to the burn, letting the perpetrator know that you will accolade all demands. Responding to the sextortionist or doing what they ask tin escalate the situation. A request for sexual images can quickly turn into actual sexual favors.

Cutting all contact with the perpetrator helps remove the ability dynamic at play. After all, they have engaged with you in the hopes that you volition panic and send them what they want. Without open up lines of advice, their ability to torment yous further becomes minimal.

Instead of engaging with the perpetrator, take the following actions as soon as you possibly tin can:

1. Document All Communications & Evidence

Information technology is often a victim'southward commencement response and natural instinct to delete all communications and cloth sent past a perpetrator. However, deleting the prove only stands to brand one's case harder to bear witness. Tangible documentation is essential for bringing a successful legal claim of sextortion.

Later all, without bear witness, your example solely rests upon your word versus a stranger's.

To strengthen your case, we recommend request a trusted family member or friend to assist you lot document evidence. Doing so volition help refute whatsoever claims past a sextortionist that you have materially altered or tampered with the testify.

Finally, make sure to screenshot the specific times and dates that the communications and materials took place. Telling a detailed chronological story is important, and modest details ultimately help strengthen a case.

ii. Secure All Online Accounts & Social Media Profiles

Securing all online profiles and accounts is crucial for helping forbid sextortion. According to a survey by the University of New Hampshire Crimes Confronting Children Centre, 54% of sextortion victims were contacted on social media. Some other 41% of sextortion instances took identify on messaging apps.

To secure your online accounts, gear up all profiles and accounts to private. Endeavour not to accept friend requests from (and later appoint with) users you do non know. Beware of profiles that accept minimal posts and pictures, and those that are not in your immediate network of friends and family.

I question we are asked ofttimes is, "practice sextortionists follow through on their threats?". To answer this question, We created the beneath video, What Are the Chances a Sextortionist Relesases My Intimate Images & Videos? In the video, Darcy Buxton, our Caput Paralegal, will walk you through the likelihood that a sextortionist will human activity on their threats – and why it is that they commonly do not follow through.

Watch

Every situation is different, and you may not know what content the sextortioner has in possession, or their willingness to publish it should they non become their way. If you accept already engaged with a sextortionist or online blackmailer, we recommend blocking them on social media. Blocking these perpetrators tin help forbid them from gaining further access to a listing of your friends and family members.

Sometimes, a perpetrator will create multiple accounts to harass victims online. If this happens, y'all may want to delete your social media profile until legal action is taken. We also recommend deleting or deactivating your profile if yous are a target of public shaming on social media. We also recommend checking out our resource, What to Do if Someone is Blackmailing You Online.

3. Contact the Relevant Social Media Website

All major social media platforms have specific processes for reporting malicious online attacks. Contact data and removal forms can generally exist institute under a website's Terms of Service or Privacy Policy. If there is no grade to report sextortion and other online attacks, emailing the website is your next best pick.

However, most social media websites are bombarded with content removal requests and reports. It can sometimes have days or weeks for a proper response.

Also, social media platforms are classified every bit user-generated content platforms, which means they are under no obligation to remove certain types of content. The only exceptions are for content that is illegal or legally provided for nether Department 230 of the Communications Decency Deed (CDA). We cover Section 230 in greater detail in the video below, including the pros and cons of the legislation, significant courtroom cases that take shaped how it is interpreted, and exceptions to the law.

Video: What is Department 230 of the Communications Decency Act?

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4. Reach Out to an Experienced Internet Attorney

Web sextortion and online blackmail tin can be highly nuanced and complex areas of law. They are often prosecuted nether state-specific statutes (which are non often written to include sextortion specifically).

If you lot are a victim of sextortion and web blackmail, nosotros recommend reaching out to an experienced net attorney. Doing so will not only save you time simply future headache and hassle.

Non only can experienced internet lawyers help identify online perpetrators and malicious trolls, only they can besides assist:

• Remove the illegal and defamatory content,
• Secure its de-indexing from Google search results,
• Compel workplace and authoritative activeness,
• Work with relevant law enforcement agencies and authorities,
• Hold malicious individuals liable for their attacks.

Experienced internet attorneys have built upward a wide array of price-effective and savvy legal tactics over the years to chop-chop and efficiently combat spider web sextortion and online blackmail.

Detect out how much an internet extortion lawyer costs past reading our comprehensive article 'How Much Does an Online Extortion Lawyer Cost?'.

How Do You lot Report Potential Sextortion Scams?

If you are in the Usa, yous can study sextortion crimes to your local constabulary enforcement role and the FBI. If you believe you lot are a victim of sextortion, contact the FBI Internet Criminal offence Complaint Eye (IC3).

If you are located in the United Kingdom, you should contact your local police and net service provider immediately. If you are in Commonwealth of australia, you can make an image-based report to the eSafety commissioner.

Yous tin too report the perpetrator to the social media platform or website where the sextortion took identify. For case:

• To report a fake or threatening profile for Facebook sextortion or other scams, click the 3 dots in the upper right corner of a post. Select report profile, and and so cull from the options (including "pretending to be someone," "fake profile," and "fake proper name").
• To study inappropriate content on Snapchat, printing and concord the 'snap' in question, and so click the flag epitome or the "Report snap" button.
• To report a tweet or direct bulletin on Twitter, tap the three dots in the upper corner of the tweet and click "Study tweet." Select "It's calumniating or harmful," then provide whatever additional data nigh the effect y'all are reporting.

What Should You Avoid Doing if You Have Been the Victim of a Sextortion Scam?

If yous are the victim of sextortion, make sure to avert communicating with or paying the person who is attempting to blackmail you.

You should as well avoid proactively informing your employer, friends, and family that you have been sextorted.

Refrain from sharing any embarrassing information about how you ended upwardly in this position. In many cases, sharing your circumstances publicly is unnecessary, since you lot may exist able to resolve the situation without telling anyone else in your social circle—especially if you obtain a lawyer.

What if I Have Already Paid the Blackmailer?

If you already tried to meet the perpetrator'south demands earlier reading this article, do not lose promise. You lot may exist able to cancel the money transfer before information technology is finalized since many blackmailers elect to option upward cash from the transfer in person. However, they will likely try to retrieve the money as soon as possible, and then you should human activity equally quickly equally you can.

If you have already initiated a transfer, we recommend contacting your banking concern every bit well as the transfer site for further information and for help canceling your transaction. Blackmailers typically use international money transfer platforms such as:

• Cash App
• Venmo
• PayPal
• Zelle
• Western Matrimony
• MoneyGram

What Legal Services Can Practise to Stop Cyberspace Sextortion

Legal remedies are limited, but legal advice can be invaluable. If you have been the victim of internet sextortion, a lawyer tin can advise y'all on your legal rights.

Given the widespread prevalence and global nature of the internet, many internet sextortion scams originate overseas and impact parties located across international borders. This presents pregnant logistical challenges in bringing the perpetrators to justice.

While contacting police enforcement can be the first response for many victims of sextortion, contacting law enforcement comes with the hazard of potentially creating a public record of something yous would rather keep private when a constabulary written report is made.

In sure circumstances, if you have met (in existent life) the person who is engaging in sextortion, you may want to consult with an attorney well-nigh the basis of your relationship with the person extorting y'all before reaching out to law enforcement, especially if coin or any potential illegality was involved.

Sound legal communication can aid victims of sextortion avert embarrassing pitfalls and salve them from quickly giving upward their difficult-earned money out of fright.

Police force firms and attorneys that are capable of treatment internet sextortion cases volition have content on their websites that provides guidance on handling internet sextortion. The best law firms and sextortion attorneys will have personal feel handling sextortion cases and can propose you on best practices, costs, risks, and outcomes based on years of feel.

If you have been the victim of sextortion, a lawyer who specializes in reputation direction and digital risk protection (DRP) can help you navigate the options at your disposal to monitor the internet to identify and prevent subsequent attacks. Minc has a DRP service that may help you identify and ward off online attacks confronting yours or your concern' reputation. We recommend checking out our folio on the subject for an overview of the services we offer: "Often Asked Questions Well-nigh Digital Risk Protection".

If You Are Being Sextorted on the Internet, We Can Assistance

When being victimized and abused online, it can be hard to know where to turn. In today'southward digital age, an astonishingly high percentage of both teenagers and adults have been the victim of sextortion or some other grade of online harassment and stalking.

At Minc Law, nosotros know how to leverage the full weight of the law and investigative tools to end online harassers, stalkers, bullies, and extortionists. In our tenure as nationally-recognized internet attorneys, nosotros have developed a comprehensive legal approach with an effective arsenal of tactics to remove embarrassing, illegal, and intimidating content. Furthermore, we can agree offenders liable for their deportment.

If y'all are a victim of an extortion scam or need to remove sensitive images or videos from the cyberspace, contact the experienced attorneys at Minc Law today past calling u.s.a. at (216) 373-7706 or by filling out our contact form online. If you are a fit for our sextortion services, we offering paid attorney consultations with i of our sextortion attorneys for a cost of $400.

★★★★★

Unfortunately I got extorted. I am glad I took swift action with Minc. They saved me a lot of stress and felt confident working with them with dealing with my situation.

OP, November eleven, 2021

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Source: https://www.minclaw.com/internet-sextortion/

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