Police: Naked images, videos sent over internet 'never go away', sextortion on the rise
This week, the FBI estimated that last year, 24,000 Americans lost a total of $1 billion to what are called "romance scammers" during 2021. The estimate includes the suspected high number of unreported incidents.
And the Federal Trade Commission, which tracks reported scams on a database, said actual losses from romance scams rose to $547 million in 2021, up from $307 million in 2020 and $202 million in 2019.
The people behind the rip-offs pretend to be attractive young women. They connect with men through online apps and dating sites, and coerce them into providing sexually explicit photos and images of themselves
These "women" most often are professional criminals preying on fear and shame to extort money. If they don't get what they want by a specified time, they threaten to share the images on social media for everyone to see.
Since Dec. 24, three Bloomington men have paid a total of $13,900 in blackmail money to strangers in an attempt to protect their reputations.
All three fell victim to sextortion. That's extortion, using threats to obtain money, with an X-rated twist.
It's a growing criminal scam. Perpetrators are raking in millions of dollars a year from people taken in under the guise of harmless online sexual conduct. Police say many cases go unreported because victims are embarrassed. source Yahoo repost
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$1 Billion in Losses Reported by Victims of Romance Scams
HOUSTON, TX—In 2021, some 24,000 victims across the United States reported losing approximately $1 billion to romance scams.1 It’s likely that many more losses went unreported.
Romance scams occur when a criminal adopts a fake online identity to gain a victim’s affection and trust. The scammer then uses the illusion of a romantic or close relationship to manipulate and/or steal from the victim.
The criminals who carry out romance scams are experts at what they do and will seem genuine, caring, and believable. Con artists are present on most dating and social media sites.
The scammer’s intention is to establish a relationship as quickly as possible, endear himself to the victim, and gain trust. Scammers may propose marriage and make plans to meet in person, but that will never happen. Eventually, they will ask for money.
Scam artists often say they are in the building and construction industry and are engaged in projects outside the U.S. That makes it easier to avoid meeting in person—and more plausible when they ask for money for a medical emergency or unexpected legal fee.
If someone you meet online needs your bank account information to deposit money, they are most likely using your account to carry out other theft and fraud schemes.
Be careful what you post and make public online. Scammers can use details shared on social media and dating sites to better understand and target you.
If you develop a romantic relationship with someone you meet online, please consider the following:
- Research the person’s photo and profile using online searches to see if the image, name, or details have been used elsewhere.
- Go slowly and ask lots of questions.
- Beware if the individual seems too perfect or quickly asks you to leave a dating service or social media site to communicate directly.
- Beware if the individual attempts to isolate you from friends and family or requests inappropriate photos or financial information that could later be used to extort you.
- Beware if the individual promises to meet in person but then always comes up with an excuse for why he or she can’t. If you haven’t met the person after a few months, for whatever reason, you have good reason to be suspicious.
- NEVER send money, cryptocurrency, or gift cards to anyone you have only communicated with online or by phone, regardless of how in love you are or how in love they say they are with you.
If you suspect an online relationship is a scam, stop all contact immediately and file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov. You can report scams whether or not you’ve lost money.
Resources:
- https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/romance-scams
- https://www.ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2020_IC3Report.pdf
1 The exact numbers for 2021 will be available on www.ic3.gov once the Internet Crime Complaint Center’s (IC3) annual report is finalized.
Here are details from the three recent Bloomington cases:
Jan. 17: A 29-year-old man reported he had sent "compromising images" to what he thought was a woman he met on the dating app OkCupid.
Jan. 11: A 20-year-old man reported he sent a video of himself masturbating to what he believed was a woman he met on Instagram.
Dec. 24: A 37-year-old man reported he received a Facebook friend request from someone he thought was a woman. They began exchanging messages, and he engaged in a video chat with her where they both "got naked," he told police.
Pedigo reiterated that people need to be smart when sharing photos and videos with people they encounter on social media but don't actually know.
"It is best to never send pictures or videos of oneself to unknown persons unless the sender is comfortable with whatever they send being sent to a family member or friend, thus avoiding the possibility of being blackmailed," he said.
He said police can't track the perpetrators or determine who gets the money in the end, and they don't know what happens when an intended victim refuses to pay.
"I do not know if videos are ever actually released, as people don't seem to call if they actually are," Pedigo said.
In the most recent Bloomington case, a man said someone claiming to be a cop and family member of the person who received the images said he had sent them to an underage girl and if he paid $2,400, he would not get in trouble. He sent the cash via PayPal.
The man in the second case said the person he sent the pornographic video to threatened to share it online if he didn't pay. He sent $6,300 using various payment apps; police think it was sent to someone in the Philippines.
In the case reported on Christmas Eve, the man said a woman contacted him and demanded he send her money or that he would get in trouble. The man sent a total of $5,200 using various apps and Apple gift cards.
It is unknown where the money and cards were transferred, and there are no suspects, the police report in that case states.
People should remember shared material such as this lingers in cyberspace. "Images and videos transmitted via the internet never go away," Pedigo said. "They can always be found. It is extremely important to consider this."
Contact reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com, 812-331-4362 or 812-318-5967.
This article originally appeared in The Herald-Times: Sextortion lesson #1: Images sent via the internet never go away
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