Surrey RCMP are warning the public about a scam called sextorti0n - the threat to send a sexual image of a person to other people if they don’t pay them a sum of money or provide more sexual content.
In a release, Surrey RCMP state that they have received multiple reports of sextortian over the past week.
In the majority of these instances, they say individuals received an email where the scammer claimed to have hacked into their computer and recorded them performing an explicit act (i.e. masturbation). After this, the scammer tells the victim that they will release the video publicly unless they are paid in Bitcoin. In these cases, there was no proof of photos or videos actually being taken.
In order to scare the victim, RCMP say fraudsters will cite a password that the victim is currently using. As such, the victim believes that the scammer has successfully hacked into their computer. However, RCMP state that these passwords have likely, "been obtained in a previous data breach not as a result of the computer being hacked." As such, the public is urged not to respond to the threats or send money.
Surrey RCMP report that other instances involved individuals who willingly sent nude or explicit photos to people they know, or met online. These photos were later used in an effort to extort money from the victims.
“It’s never a good idea to share intimate photos of yourself online – even if it’s with a person you trust,” said Staff Sergeant Lyndsay O’Ruairc. “Sharing intimate photos leaves you vulnerable to being exploited.”
Some tips to protect yourself from being a target of sextortion are:
- Disable your webcam or any other camera connected to the internet when you aren’t using it.
- Create complex difficult to guess passwords for your devices and accounts and change the passwords frequently.
- Don’t send intimate photos of yourself to anyone and don’t perform any explicit acts online.
Parents and guardians can find additional information regarding sextortion to protect youths by visiting the website for the Canadian Center for Child Protection.
If you or someone you know is a victim of this type of crime, please call and report the incident to Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502 or, if you wish to make an anonymous report, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or www.solvecrime.ca.
Surrey RCMP also recommends reporting sextortion scams to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre by going to their website or by calling 1-888-495-8501.
