Sextortion: What it is, How to Avoid it, and What to do

Few things generate as much anxiety and fear as sextortion. Deriving its name from sexual extortion, this threat of having your sexually explicit visual material leaked to the public unless you pay some specified amount of money can lead to adverse effects. Research shows that sextortion can lead to financial losses, general distress, hopelessness, and in worst cases, suicide. 

Worryingly, sextortion is a growing problem and one that most individuals are unprepared to deal with. Nevertheless, several practical steps exist to keep you from falling victim. And even if you’re currently undergoing sextortion, there are options for you to help reduce the potential damage. 

This post discusses everything about sextortion, including sextortion’s meaning, how it happens, how you can avoid it, and what to do if you’ve already fallen prey to it. 

Let’s get started!

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What is sextortion?

Sextortion is a blackmail crime where an extortionist gains access to your sexually explicit photos or videos then threatens to publish them unless you pay them a certain fee or perform certain actions. The fee may be a one-time or ongoing payment.

In specific instances, the extortionist may demand you send them more intimate visual materials as the price of privacy. And if you give in, you’ll be supplying the extorter with more ammunition against you. 

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Methods of sextortion

Sextortionist uses different strategies to get their victims. And if you can recognize some of the common methods and characteristics of sextortion, you can avoid becoming a victim.

Here are some of the common types of sextortion. 

1. Catfish scams

A more significant percentage of sextortion begins with another type of online attack: catfish scams. This is a scenario where an individual poses as someone else, usually someone with similar interests as the victim or a beautiful person, to lure the victim into giving in certain details.

The catfishing sextortionists create fake social media profiles with stolen images. The fraudsters will then send direct messages to their victims and request sexually explicit images. Once they have your nudes, they’ll start demanding money in exchange for privacy. 

2. Facebook sextortion 

This is a subtype of catfish sextortion that involves a Facebook social network. It starts with a friend request or a direct message from an unknown user. After the ‘Facebook’ friendship materializes, the perpetrator will request intimate videos or images from you. After sending these messages, the sextortionist will demand money, more sexual images, or any other favor as security. 

Fortunately, there are a few signs to help you recognize and avoid Facebook sextortionist scams and attempts. One sign of these fraudsters on Facebook is people that seem too good to be true. You might have met them: friend requests from profiles featuring super beautiful girls and explicit bio. But some cybercriminals have perfected the art of catfishing. They create compelling fake profiles. If you fall prey to these fraudsters, here is how you can deal with the situation.

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How to deal with Facebook sextortion

If someone threatens to share or publish your sexually explicit visuals if you don’t meet their demands, here is what you should do:

1. Remain calm
2. Don’t meet the sextortionist’s demands
3. Save all the communications with the fraudster
4. Maximize privacy restrictions on all your social media accounts
5. Report the perpetrator’s account
6. Report the case to a law enforcement authority

You can also turn on Google alert to monitor content, mentions, online posts with your name.

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3. Sextortion emails

Perpetrators may also use email campaigns to get their victims. Here, the attacker composes an email that aims at invoking fear in the victims. The fraudster claims to have access to the victim’s browser history or webcam activities. The email is then sent to hundreds of individuals, demanding payments through untraceable methods like Bitcoin.

1. Sexting scam

As the name suggests, this is a type of sextortion that involves text messages. Here, the perpetrators lure you into texting intimately and threaten to share your conversations and messages if you don’t meet their demands.

2. Hacked accounts and webcam

If you’ve ever shared intimate visuals through the internet or text messages, a perpetrator can access them by hacking into your account. In 2014, almost 500 intimate photos of celebrities were stolen in an iCloud hack. They were then leaked to the internet where anyone in the world can see them.  They can then demand money or other favors not to share these photos or videos. Jennifer Lawerence, star of the movie The Hunger Games, speaks about the trauma of having her intimate pictures leaked.

3. Malware Sextortion Scam

Sextortionist can also install malware into your computer and use it to access your webcam. They can then record your activities or get access to your accounts using keyloggers to obtain intimate photos and videos of you. They can then use these images and videos for sextortion.

1. Revenge porn

Although not entirely a type of sextortion, this term has been in the limelight for some time. So, what is revenge porn? This involves sharing sexually explicit videos and photos without the consent of the individuals in the image. Revenge porn becomes sextortion when the perpetrator demands a favor to take the post down or refrain from posting it.

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Avoiding sextortion

Avoiding sextortion may sound easy, but it has caught hundreds of people by surprise. This is especially true given the increased number of relationships on social media platforms and dating sites. 

Here are a few tips to help you stay safe:

• Do some background checks: If you have doubts about an individual, it will help to do a little digging into their background. Check their profiles for any red flags. Running a reverse image search on someone you’ve met online is a way to run an internet background check on them. A reverse image search can help you determine if the person can be trusted.
• Refrain from sharing intimate photos or videos: To avoid this kind of cybercrime, avoid sending intimate videos or photos to people you don’t completely trust. If you are in a relationship and generally comfortable it’s important to learn how to sext safely Also, try not to keep intimate images or videos on your internet-connect devices.
• Use strong passwords: To avoid hacking activities, you may use strong passwords for your social media accounts. Also, you should change your password regularly.
• Cover or turn off webcams when not in use: It has become common for people to shut off or cover their webcam or microphone when not using them. This ensures that hackers can’t see or hear what you’re doing. There are even slidable webcam covers you can buy online.

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What to do If you’re being Sextorted

If you fall prey to the sextortionist, don’t panic. There are a few things you can do to reduce the potential damage.

If you’re wondering what to do if someone is blackmailing with your sexually explicit visuals, this is the section for you. First, you should be aware that sextortion is a felony. This means that a sextortionist could face up to 10 years of jail time and up to $250,000 dollars in fines.

So, if you fall prey to sextortionist, here are a few things to do to reduce the damage:

• Don’t panic
• Don’t send any cash or favors
• Keep all the conversations with the perpetrator 
• Talk to someone you trust about the issue
• Report the case to law enforcers near you
• Change all your passwords
• Call the FBI to report the crime at (1-800-CALL-FBI.)

The bottom line

Sextortion can leave you with mental distress and dealing with financial problems. Finding out the person behind the accounts is important when in this situation. Running a reverse search on the sextortionist can help you report them to the authorities. A reverse search allows you to find out who owns a phone number, email address, username, or who is really in the images being used in their profile. Use the search bar below to run your reverse search.