Sextortion can happen through a variety of methods, but here are a few general scenarios: Email phishing schemesĪn email arrives in your inbox stating that the sender has one of your passwords (which they will include in the email). These criminals are ruining and ending lives, so the social impact is immense. The increase in suicide cases related to sextortion highlights the very serious nature of these crimes. This is especially troubling when you consider they could provide a back door to classified information and even compromise national security. Military personnel are prime targets because their conduct is closely monitored so they’re more likely to comply with demands. Corporates employees could easily be swayed into handing over employee credentials and other information for use in future crimes. The ease with which victims fall prey to these schemes is a big concern for companies and governments too. It’s very likely that targets will pay up instead of facing the embarrassing repercussions of having their private images and videos shared with friends, family members, colleagues, and the general public. Sextortion is thought to be rising in popularity among criminals due to the attractive nature of the crime. Plus, this is probably just the tip of the iceberg given that so many cases go unreported. In the UK, more than 1,300 cases were reported in 2017, three times the number in 2015. In July 2018, the FBI received 13,000 more sextortion complaints than it had in the previous month.

Other sextortion schemes are less targeted and are more like generic phishing schemes. They even set up call center-style offices from which to operate. Gangs in the Philippines, Romania, Morocco, and other parts of the globe are said to be targeting men, including armed forces personnel, under the guise of women looking for a sexual relationship. This type of sextortion has been highlighted in the UK after a spate of male suicides related to sextortion cases. When you expand sextortion to include crimes where victims are asked to cough up cash in exchange for not sharing intimate images or videos, there appears to be a huge male targetbase. However, it also defined sextortion as using personal information to force victims to engage in sexual activity, and does not appear to include extortion for money. An infographic, released by Thorn, reveals that an alarming 45% of perpetrators actually carried out threats.Īnother infographic based on a Brookings study reported that most adult victims of sextortion are female.

They threaten to publish them online or share them with friends, family members, or colleagues if the victim doesn’t provide more material, engage in sexual acts, or hand over money. Typically, the perpetrator has (or purports to have) some compromising images or videos or the victim. The FBI defines sextortion as “a serious crime that occurs when someone threatens to distribute your private and sensitive material if you don’t provide them with images of a sexual nature, sexual favors, or money.” What is sextortion and who are the targets? We’ll then provide tips to help you avoid becoming the next victim of sextortion. In this post, we explain what sextortion is, and how it takes place, including describing some real-life examples. With the prevalence of sextortion crimes, it’s important that everyone is aware of what to look out for. Plus, webcams make it very simple for people to record themselves (or be secretly recorded). With the popularity of social media, messaging apps, and online dating, the exchange of explicit material online is far more commonplace. Aside from the psychological and sometimes physical damage it imparts, a major problem with this crime is that many cases go unreported because victims are too embarrassed. This crime is a growing concern in many parts of the globe and affects a broad range of targets, including males, females, minors, and adults. In general terms, sextortion is extortion involving material of a sexual nature, but it can take various forms.

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