What is a Sextortion Scam | How to Stay Safe, What To Do?

During the lockdown, people started using their mobile phones a lot. Most of the time was spent on smartphones during the lockdown- playing games, watching videos, chatting on social media or dating applications. You must have experienced dating application advertisements while you play a game or scroll on social media. Those dating applications also play an important role in sextortion scams. While chatting on those apps, the person chatting other side may ask to come over on WhatsApp video call and show private parts. Victims think the person other side is excited to see his/her private parts but are unaware that the video call can be recorded using default screen record of the mobile phone and can be then misused further in any way. My advice has saved many such victims from committing suicide.

What is a Sextortion Scam?

A sextortion scam is a type of online blackmail where a scammer threatens to release private or compromising photos or videos of a victim unless they comply with certain demands, usually involving money. These demands can vary widely, from small sums to large amounts.

How Do Sextortion Scams Work?

Contact Initiation: Scammers often initiate contact through social media, dating apps, or email. They may pose as someone the victim knows or a potential romantic interest.
Information Gathering: The scammer will try to gather personal information about the victim, such as their name, address, phone number, and social media profiles.
Compromising Material: The scammer may send the victim explicit or compromising content, claiming it’s from them. This is often fake or stolen.
Threat and Demand: The scammer then threatens to share the content with friends, family, or colleagues unless the victim pays a ransom.

Common Tactics Used by Sextortion Scammers:

Creating a Sense of Urgency: Scammers often emphasize the immediate threat and demand quick action.
Playing on Emotions: They may exploit fear, shame, or embarrassment to pressure the victim.
Threatening Reputation: They may threaten to damage the victim’s reputation or career.

What to Do if You’re a Victim of a Sextortion Scam:

Don’t Pay the Ransom: Paying the ransom will likely only encourage the scammer to target more victims.
Report to Authorities: To report the scam, contact your local law enforcement agency or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Document the Scam: Save any emails, messages, or screenshots related to the scam as evidence.
Change Passwords: Update your passwords for all online accounts, especially those that were compromised.
Seek Support: If you’re feeling overwhelmed or distressed, consider seeking help from a mental health professional or support group.

Case Studies of Sextortion Scam by Cyber Expert Mukesh Choudhary:

Case: Dr. Prashant was scrolling through his Instagram feed when he received a message from an Instagram account that belonged to a beautiful girl named Rhea. Prashant and Rhea started chatting and in no time Prashant felt connected to Rhea this continued for some days till Rhea Asked him if he was interested in a video call to which Prashant said yes immediately. Prashant received a video call from Rhea and saw her undressing herself on the call and asked him to do the same. This got Prashant excited and he showed his private parts on the call as well. Prashant was left shocked when he received a message from Rhea saying that she had screen-recorded the call wherein Prashant’s showing his private parts and she would make it viral on social media if Prashant didn’t pay her the money she demanded. Prashant took it casually until his video was sent to her wife on Facebook. Prashant got scared and was worried about his reputation and ended up paying 1 lakh rupees in multiple parts until he consulted me for the solution.

Cybercriminals came up with another modus operandi wherein you receive a video call on WhatsApp from an unknown number, and it’s human tendency that whenever we receive a video call we have our mobile phones right in front of our faces. So, when you pick up a WhatsApp video call from an unknown number, there may be a nude person on the other side of the call and your face can be recorded with it. Now the criminals will blackmail you to pay the desired amount or the video will be leaked on Social media to your friends and uploaded to YouTube to make it viral.

Victims here go into a state of shock and depression. They don’t want the video to go viral and end up paying ransom in return. But, the fraudsters do not stop here, they keep on demanding money. To threaten victims, they also send messages or calls from a WhatsApp number having a picture of a police officer on it. They will then threaten victims to settle the case by paying some amount. Many victims get scared in such cases and end up paying as they demand. Here, victims think they have committed the crime but they should realize that they are the victim in this case and need not worry.

Precautions to be taken to prevent Sextortion Scam:

1. Do not pick up video calls from the unknown.
2. Your WhatsApp display picture should be visible to your contacts only. You can set it from your WhatsApp
3. Go to your settings and then privacy settings to enable the profile locking option This will help you to maintain the privacy of your Facebook profile, fraudsters will not be able to see your pictures, friend list, posts, etc.
4. Set the privacy of your other social media accounts you are.

If you or anyone of your known is a victim:

If you are a victim of sextortion, do not pay a ransom in any situation as it is Set the privacy of all your social media accounts in a way that none of your friends is visible to strangers. So, that the fraudster can’t send the video of your friends and family members.

If they threaten to upload it on YouTube, don’t panic as it will either be deleted from YouTube directly or it can be reported by you or anyone on your behalf. Your video will not go viral until you are a public figure or a celebrity. So, do not panic and report it to your local police station or on www.cybercrime.gov.in

In case you have transferred the money, report it to the cyber fraud helpline number 1930.

If you believe you may be a victim of a sextortion scam, it’s important to seek help and report the incident to authorities. Remember, you are not alone, and there are resources available to support you.