Warning over rise in ‘sextortion’ cases in our area

Lincolnshire Police say….

‘Sextortion’ is a form of blackmail – but would you know if you were being lined up as a victim?

We have seen a concerning number of people being targeted, and we want to warn you about the risks and help you know how to steer clear of becoming a victim.

Almost 400 people fell victim to a scam that’s cost them nearly £60K between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024.

Sextortion involves threatening to publish sexual information, photos or videos about someone to either extort money or to force the victim to do something against their will.

Criminals often target people through dating apps, social media, webcams, or pornography sites. They may use a fake identity to befriend you online. If a person you’ve just met online chats to you in a sexual way, or asks for sexual images, it might be an attempt at sextortion. This type of crime can happen both very quickly, or over a long time.

Data shows there were 396 cases reported in Lincolnshire, the majority of which were men between 18 and 29 years old, followed by boys under the age of 18.

The youngest victim to make a report was a boy who was just 12 years old, while the oldest was a 79-year-old man.  

The total amount of money people have been scammed out of £59,890.

Instagram and Snapchat were used in 45 per cent of the reports we have received. Other social media platforms include Facebook, Whatsapp, Wizz, and dating sites such as Hinge and Tinder.

What can you do?

The strongest pieces of advice we have are not to share intimate pictures of yourself online, and to review your privacy settings to ensure that people can’t see who your friends and family are.  

Once an image is gone from your possession, you have lost all control of it.

You should be wary if someone you’ve met online:

• is trying to start a relationship with you very quickly (they may even send you a sexual image first)
• has sent friend requests to lots of people, not just your privacy settings
• repeatedly asks you to do sexual things that you’re not comfortable with
• tells you they’ve hacked your account or have access to your contacts

What to do if you’ve been targeted

If you are a victim of sextortion, it’s not your fault. There is help and support available.

• Don’t panic, help and support is available.
• Stop all communication with the offender immediately.
• Don’t pay, even if you are tempted, as there is no guarantee that this will stop the threats.
• Save the evidence:
  • take screenshots
  • save messages and images
  • make a note of usernames, email addresses, phone numbers and bank account numbers
• Collect URL links to where your images or information is being shared online.

Most social media sites have rules against sharing intimate content without consent. You should be able to get the material removed. If you’ve paid the person, consider telling your bank. They may not be able to get any money back but it helps us and the banks to know it’s happened.

Detective Inspector Dave Penney said: “This is a very intimate and distressing crime. The people behind these scams request money to be sent to bank accounts or vouchers to be purchased, and often the amount varies. Even when victims have paid, they can continue to be targeted, or the image is still shared.

“The bank details victims are given to deposit money into are often accounts which are based overseas. As well as people being targeted after they have shared an intimate image, there are also reports where victims have received messages implying the person contacting them has images or videos despite the victim never sending anything, and there are also reports where the victim’s head has been edited to appear on an image of someone else’s naked body, or collages made with details of the victim which include slurs like ‘paedophile’ or ‘rapist’.

“I can’t imagine how distressing it would be targeted in any of these ways, and people will feel very vulnerable and stressed in these circumstances. The true level of sextortion is unknown – victims that have come forwards have reported feeling embarrassed and therefore it is expected that not all victims will report the offences because of this.”