What to Do If You’re Being Blackmailed – 5 of the Best Tips From the Experts

Are you being blackmailed online and searching for “What to Do If You’re Being Blackmailed? Our team prepared 5 best tips for a victims of online blackmail. Keep reading or watching 🙂

In the era of social networking, connecting with people from across the globe has become simple. Forums, chat rooms, and online dating apps have made it easier than ever to connect over common interests and shared passions.

However, the same technology also has also provided a platform for cyber-crime to take root and grow alongside it, even on the biggest platforms. In a world where a screen sometimes separates us from the faces of those we communicate with, it can sometimes be difficult to know who to trust.

IS BLACKMAIL A CRIME?

One day you may be talking to someone you’ve just met on a dating app, and they sound like they could become a trusted friend (or maybe more!), so you send them some pictures – perhaps even intimate images – in hopes to connect with them further, while the next day you find out that all they cared about was obtaining your personal information, and are suddenly threatening to reveal it to the world if you don’t follow their demands.

Or perhaps you’ve settled in for the night, and you decide to enjoy some private time with some adult content – only to wake up the next day with an e-mail demanding money, from a person who says they’ve hacked your webcam and recorded you watching those videos.

The situations we’ve just described is the basis for the most common form of online blackmail, called ‘sextortion.’ In this guide we want to give you the best tips to help yourself if you, a friend or a family member should ever find themselves in this situation. So let’s dive deep in to the topic tips.

What to Do If You’re Being Blackmailed Online Our Best Tips

• Remind Yourself: You Are Not at Fault

Blackmail is a crime and you are a victim. Online blackmail is not always easy to see coming, so not blaming yourself is an important first step to calmly being able to navigate the situation.

• Report it to your Local Law Enforcement Agency and the Internet Crime Complaint Center

While many police departments are not equipped to handle cyber-crimes, filing a report about what’s happening will help protect you by having a record on file of the incident. Additionally, filing a report with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) will also serve to help protect you, should the situation not be resolved positively.

• Secure Your Social Media and Privacy

No matter where or how you met your blackmailer, minimizing your online presence and information is important during a situation.

Change your Facebook and Instagram accounts to private. Limit what a blackmailer might see if they search for you can help minimize potential damage.

If you are a victim of a situation similar to the second example we gave in our introduction, consider putting a cover or sticker over your webcam during times of private activity. Bear in mind, some perpetrators won’t just target your friends and family with your content

• Do Not Give in to Their Demands

When a situation has already progressed to a point where a blackmailer demands favors or payment, a victim’s first instinct may be to haggle down and pay the perpetrator a little money to make the situation go away.

DO NOT do this. Paying a blackmailer tells a perpetrator that you’re on the hook, and are afraid enough to pay them.

• Seek Experienced Help to Deal With Blackmail

 Some believe that blocking and ignoring a blackmailer is the best option there is to combat the crime.

WHAT TO DO IF BEING BLACKMAILED?

By taking matters into your own hands, without assistance, you’re potentially setting yourself up for more damage. Looking to a company or service that specializes in handling these situations is always the strongest option, no matter what.

By keeping these tips in mind, you’re already well on your way to protecting yourself.  If you’re already in the middle of a situation, well on your way to ending it.

We take matters like these very seriously. Especially with the stark rise in this type of cyber crime over the last several years. For more information, or to seek assistance with a situation of online blackmail, reach out to our sextortion helpline – we’re available 24/7 for your support. Now You Know What to Do If You’re Being Blackmailed Online.

We can help you with different types of blackmail or sextortion. Here you can report:

Facebook Blackmail (Facebook Sextortion)

Instagram Blackmail (Sextortion On Instagram)

Snapchat Blackmail (Snapchat Sextortion)

Its time to act now. Don’t hesitate. If you’re a victim this situation needs expert help