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Cases can be investigated using Social Media
Facebook sees an average of 2.9 billion monthly active users, a staggeringly large amount considering that the world’s population is nearing 8 billion. That’s just over a third of the entire population accessing Facebook each month.
These users are spread across all corners of the earth and allow people to interact in many ways. Facebook allows for direct user messaging, joining groups that function like forums, and for each user to share media that is their own or from someone else.
The ability for users from all over the world to communicate on a singular platform has led to a social media boom. Many social media platforms offer different value propositions that affect how users interact. Because these platforms operate differently they pose potential threats that go outside of what they were originally intended for.
Facebook is not all about chatting with friends and networking; the platform has shown there is a dark side to it that consists of cybercriminals, especially sextortionists, who are luring victims in, coercing them into sending explicit content, and then blackmailing them for money.
If this sounds like something you are going through, keep reading to find out what Facebook Messenger sextortion is, how to deal with it, and how to recover from sextortion.
Facebook sextortion is when someone coerces another individual to send over explicit content through the platform, which could be a sexual photo or video and threatens to expose their private content online unless they pay them a certain amount of money or provide more sexual content.
The sexual aspect of sextortion relies on two main things. The first is that the victim is too ashamed and won’t want to seek help because of the nature of the situation. The second is that the extortionist will threaten to share the sexual content with friends, family, or coworkers unless they provide payment to keep the extortionist quiet.
A common scenario of this is when someone receives a random message from an attractive person on their Facebook Messenger. The chat will start with a friendly introduction and some common questions to break the ice.
The conversation could last a few hours or days; this is how a sextortionist will try to gain the trust of their victims or make them comfortable enough to share more of themselves. Once a victim is comfortable, the conversation will turn more flirtatious and sexual.
The idea of exchanging content gets brought up, and victims typically fall for the trap because they are manipulated into believing this person is interested in them and that they’re only having fun. This is when a never-ending cycle of harassment and threats comes. A sextortionist will go after their victim’s entire friends list and family members and threaten to expose their content on Facebook to the world if they don’t get exactly what they want.
Many people learned about the idea of sexual content exposure on social media through revenge porn. News media outlets had shared horror stories of a jilted ex who had access to their previous partner’s social media accounts.
The person would log into their account and post nude images of their partner for all of their friends and family to see. This attempt to ruin a person’s reputation would cause embarrassment to the victim but ultimately backfire on the perpetrator.
That sort of fear of exposure is what fuels modern sexual extortion scams. The difference between a sextortion scam and revenge porn is that the victim and scammer in a sextortion scam didn’t previously know each other.
The relationship was built on false pretenses, usually over a short time period, with the sole purpose of extorting the victim. Revenge porn is usually carried out by someone the victim knows. In both situations, threats may be made before the exposure of the sexual content.
Sextortion on Facebook takes on many shapes and forms. With the scammer’s ultimate goal being leverage and pay off, they’ll go to any length to get what they’re after.
The scammer will use intimidation tactics, blackmail, harassment, and extortion, all with the use of sexual images or content. With the threat of exposing you, they will make demands for gift cards and other forms of payment that allow for a quick and easy transaction.
Here are some of the ways a sextortionist will use Facebook to scam someone:
Facebook introduced its messenger app to have a dedicated communication platform that involves your Facebook friends. A sextortionist looking to target someone would add a stranger and use their fake profile, typically of an attractive person, to flatter and flirt with their victim. The extortionist will escalate the conversation to one of a sexual nature where they use the messenger app to request sexual acts from their victim.
The app allows the sending of images, videos, and even live video calls. Because they’re able to so easily reach you, the scammer will love-bomb the victim in hopes that they can disarm them and receive what they’re after. Once they have what they’re seeking they will change their demeanor and reveal their sinister motive: payment for not releasing the content to your friends and family.
Because Facebook is a wide network, you’ve likely added your family, friends, and coworkers as part of your network. These groups of people can be found in your friends list and by comments on your pictures or posts. People with the same last name can be obvious targets.
If you’ve included information about your place of work or former schools and have tagged or been tagged in photos, it’s clear who the potential recipients of your extorted images and videos could be.
While many interactions with a scammer will initially take place on Facebook Messenger, they may request to move the conversation. Platforms like WhatsApp make it easy for a scammer to put layers of separation between themselves, their persona, and the action they plan to take. If the scammer is able to move conversations to another platform where they begin their extortion tactics, they can keep their carefully crafted persona intact with no evidence of wrongdoing to Facebook.
Scammers will ask for your username on an alternative platform as a way to more easily communicate. Honoring this request can certainly lead to them shifting the conversation and potentially sending sexual content that they claim is of them. Even a live video call can be faked with a pre-recorded video.
While young adults make up the majority of Facebook users, the reality is that anyone is at risk of being a victim of a sextortion scam. However, there have been increasing instances of very young people, potentially children and the elderly, who are targeted. These vulnerable populations are often more susceptible to loneliness and misplaced trust.
A Facebook sextortion scammer is looking for a target that they can easily extort. This means the person may have a rich network of friends yet display behavior that leaves them open. Because social media platforms allow us to post our thoughts and aspects of our personal lives, we may give away more than we intend to. A scammer can pick up on the behavior of someone who may be insecure, looking for a relationship, or open to engaging with strangers.
Facebook’s large audience, simplicity for connecting with others, and the availability of leverage. The platform has changed the default for information displayed to other users, but there is still a lot of personal information that is easily accessible to someone who isn’t a friend. With some basic social engineering, a scammer can build up a wide profile about you.
When it comes to combating the constant threat of fake accounts and bad actors, there’s plenty you can do to keep yourself safe online. Keeping yourself safe on Facebook to prevent a sextortion scam begins with prevention and identifying suspicious behavior.
Let’s take a look at the most common ways a scammer approaches a target:
Identifying a potential sextortionist is the ideal way to keep yourself safe on Facebook. A potential scammer may be a profile that is a duplicate of someone you’re already friends with or someone you’ve never interacted with. If you see a friend request in either situation, proceed with caution.
The profile they create will use stolen images and information they either took from an account or made up. Review the profile and look for their activity: do they have minimal posts or no friends in common with you?
The picture they use could be an indicator of a fake profile. A fake profile may have a poor-quality image or a stock image of a person. The name they choose to use could be very generic or spelled oddly.
Looking at the posts of the user, if they’re someone who should be an English speaker check for spelling errors. You would expect a native English speaker to have a profile that is free of odd grammar and that their sentences will be cohesive.
If your new friend initiates a conversation, don’t immediately assume they don’t mean any harm. Don’t give up any personal details or engage with any romantic intentions; see where they want to lead the conversation. A sextortionist will likely engage in flattering and flirtatious behavior immediately. They’ll want to capture your attention and disarm you in order to solidify their hold on you.
A common red flag is when the scammer asks to move the conversation to a different platform. They may try to initiate a video call or ask you to move to WhatsApp or Skype. Their goal is to get their victim to engage in sexual activity while being secretly recorded in an effort to covertly capture intimate images.
A scammer will try to obtain as much personal information as they can to use against you. They may subtly ask about your workplace, where you live, or details about those close to you. These sensitive details are all used as part of the scheme to use against you once they receive the leverage they’re seeking.
The biggest red flag from a new contact is if they ask you for sexual content. You may find the attention a compliment, and if they’ve provided material of their own, you may feel obligated to participate. The pictures they send you may not be them at all, and if you provide pictures that include your face, you could be putting yourself at significant risk.
Reporting users on social media platforms is an important feature that helps protect you and prevent others from dealing with malicious accounts. Many users may feel too much shame or guilt to take action on an account because of the nature of the conversation.
Drawing attention to what has happened may feel like they’re airing out their dirty laundry where someone else will see. But reporting can help take down the fake profile and set the scammers back on their efforts.
If you come across a fake Facebook account, you’ll be able to report the account itself. Because fraudulent accounts go against the terms of service agreement with Meta, the account will be reviewed and potentially removed. Reporting fake accounts is fast and easy, with the potential they won’t notice the action is taken.
To report an account go to the profile and click on the three dots. Select the “Report Profile” option and select the most relevant option.
Reporting an account can be an important step that you may also want to take with caution. Before reporting an account you will want to document the activity of the person depending on the person and their threats. Consulting with local law enforcement and an attorney may be a good first step before initiating a report.
It can be a good idea to report an account in as many ways as possible. Each instance of a report is reviewed and evaluated on its own. If the fake profile has engaged in inappropriate conversations, you can report the conversation itself. If they’ve provided sensitive links or materials or made threats, each instance can be reported.
Prevention is the best course of action when dealing with a sextortion scammer. You can be smart online while continuing to use Facebook; all you need to do is follow a few simple rules. For minors, it’s important to cover these rules so that you can keep them safe from those who seek to do them harm.
One of the best ways to keep yourself safe online from sextortionists on Facebook is to interact with strangers. Facebook is a large place, and it’s possible to encounter strangers in groups, on the marketplace, and one-on-one in direct messaging. Each place poses a potential threat to encountering scammers or malicious people.
Groups on Facebook act like a forum where people can gather to talk about a subject. Some groups are private and some allow anyone to join.
In a group, there can be legitimate conversations and posts where people engage about a topic within the group. Because members of the group use their profile to comment, that means a scammer could identify someone they want to engage with and view the profile of the person directly from the group.
Facebook marketplace acts as a way for users to buy and sell items online or to schedule meetings in person. Marketplace contains a ton of items that are enticing, with options to reach out to a seller directly through messages. While local and online buying and selling is easy, the fact that you use your Facebook profile to engage with others online can make for another way for extortionists to find targets.
Direct messaging allows a person, friend or not, to message another person. Direct messaging allows users to communicate without the conversation being seen by anyone else. The messages aren’t shown to anyone else and there is no evidence of two people communicating. Private messages can allow a bad actor to make an attack on someone else.
If you’ve engaged with a new person online and they send you attachments or unsolicited images, that can be a red flag. Don’t accept attachments, images, or links from a stranger for many reasons. An attachment could be holding malware or something malicious that could harm your computer and expose you virtually.
Unsolicited images could be of a sexual nature, and being shown to a vulnerable person or a minor could lead to problematic behavior. A stranger will likely send explicit photos with the expectation of receiving something from the recipient.
Links can be as dangerous as attachments. A link can expose your location or IP address and lead to the compromising of your personal information. Because of this, it’s best practice not to interact with any media sent to you online from a stranger.
Sending explicit images online to a stranger is a very bad idea. Sextortion scammers are seeking these images out specifically because they can use them against the sender.
If the pictures are easy to identify as the sender or are pictures featuring the sender’s face, then the ability to extort the sender is made easier. Even pictures that don’t include a face can be used against the sender. The best practice is to not send sexual images online at all, especially to someone you’ve just met online.
Lots of victims don’t know which steps to take once they are faced with a sextortionist and don’t know how to deal with Facebook sextortion. They act out of fear and can land themselves into more trouble.
Besides keeping themselves safe online, victims need to take care of their mental health. Victims of sextortion are left with copious amounts of trauma. Their whole perspective of people has changed, and the likelihood of trusting another individual is very low. We recommend reaching out to support groups for victims of cybercrimes to get the right help in recovering from this crime.
Below are some resources available to victims.
We also recommend letting a close friend or family member know about the situation. Lots of sextortionists play mind games and try to get their victims to believe their family and friends will be ashamed of them. Although admitting to sextortion can be hard, it’s so important to tell someone what is happening. Keeping quiet will only give a sextortionist more power. Don’t let them win.
One of the first things you can do to tackle what can feel like a monumental event is to confide in someone. A close friend or loved one can provide stability and insight and help you advocate for yourself. These types of attacks are mentally taxing and designed to wear the victim down. Someone that you trust can help you navigate the situation in many ways.
A close friend or loved one can help you gather evidence, write emails to contact an attorney, or drive you to and from the authorities. Maybe your friend is more tech-savvy and able to help you block the person and establish some better security on your accounts. Having someone in your corner who has a clearer mind, someone removed from the situation can be extremely beneficial.
Documentation of the attack is extremely important. In order to take action against the sextortionist, you’ll need to show the extent of the attack and help prove what laws may have been broken.
To document the situation, you’ll want to take screenshots and screen recordings of as much of the conversation and profile as possible. Any instances that took place in person or through a video chat can be written down by the victim in as much detail as possible.
Store the screenshots and screen recordings in a secure place that is easy to access. Since this evidence needs to be shared with the proper authorities you’ll want to ensure that it’s easy to share. It may be beneficial to ask for help from someone you trust who is tech-savvy or willing to help you collect the evidence needed.
Securing your Facebook account can help prevent any further attacks or halt an ongoing attack. Facebook settings allow for a high level of what information is shared, who can interact with you, and even who can send you a friend request. A great place to start is to set your account to private and then review all of the available privacy settings that allow you to protect your personal information.
Making your profile private is a great way to prevent non-friends from seeing your personal details. But if you’re uncertain about those who are already on your list, it can be a good idea to secure your account further.
Remove any friends that are potentially fake, duplicates, or people you don’t actually know. Some scammers use multiple accounts in case the profile they use to carry out an attack is taken down. They may make an account that mimics a friend or family member to stay under the radar.
It can be unclear just how much information a sextortionist can take from their victim. Depending on what you shared, what they’ve gathered from your profile, and what they learned in conversation, they may have enough information to gain access to your other accounts. Many people use similar usernames and passwords for online accounts, and many of the passwords used contain personal information.
It is very common for a password to contain a pet’s name, a date, or other personal details that can make a password easy to guess. With enough information, the scammer may try to gain access to your other accounts. It would be a good idea to secure your other accounts by changing passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, and setting other social media accounts to private.
With a scammer successfully making contact with you, they may try to maintain constant contact. Their approach to conversation is similar to a hostage negotiator: if they can keep you talking and engaged, they can continue to manipulate you.
With an open line of communication, even if you’re not actively replying, they will continue to make threats and get you to react. They may send you screenshots or details about you or your family member that they’ve dug up in an attempt to intimidate you.
The scammer will continue to request payment from you to keep the information they have to themselves. If they’ve received any form of payment they will only become more aggressive or insistent on talking to you.
Once they’ve found a source of income they will be hard-pressed to let that go. It’s best to never pay them, and if you’ve already done so, don’t pay them anymore, even with threats.
Blocking is a great option because it can allow you peace of mind. The constant barrage of attacks and threats can be emotionally draining and may lead to their target succumbing to get it to stop. With a block in place, the scammer will no longer be able to reach their victim and their account will not show up any longer.
It’s possible that the scammer can use another account they control or make a new one so that they can make contact again. While it can feel violative to be contacted by the same person from another account, you can block the other account quickly and easily.
The scammer will only be able to make so many accounts or control so many. It takes just a few seconds to block the account and far more time and effort for the scammer to continue trying to contact you.
Contacting the authorities is a necessary step if threats are made, money has changed hands, and especially if the victim is a minor. You can reach out to your local law enforcement and ask to speak to an officer who handles issues of cyber crimes. If your local law enforcement isn’t equipped to handle instances of sextortion there are still plenty of options.
The FBI has addressed the growing issue of financially motivated sextortion cases. They’re also a great department to contact if you or a loved one has suffered from a sextortion attack. They have dedicated numbers you can call and many local field offices where you can talk to someone in person.
For instances that involve minors, the NCMEC (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children) is a great resource. They can assist in the sensitive nature of children who have been exploited and extorted.
They have connections to a wide array of services that can help a child recover and advocate for them. Because minors are protected in ways that adults aren’t, the cases are taken very seriously and will have serious legal implications.
An attacker who has gotten a full picture of who you are, your identity, and your life may reach out or target you in other ways. They may have identified your place of work and other accounts associated with you on other platforms, or they may have identified people close to you. They could attempt to reach you or others on other platforms to further their attack.
Depending on if the scammer makes contact with you or someone else and depending on the platform it may require similar actions that we recommended in dealing with an attack. Responding to each instance immediately by blocking the person or taking necessary action can help discourage the scammer from pursuing you further.
Digital Forensics Corp is ready to step in if you or someone you love has been a victim of sextortion. We’re equipped to help you take back control of a situation and prevent the release of your sensitive images. We will give you the assistance you need to go online without fear.
Our team is made up of digital forensics experts, social engineers, and lawyers trained in cybercrime. With proprietary tools, we can track digital footprints to identify a sextortionist and expose them. With our documentation, you can confidently take down your attacker in a legal setting where we can provide you with all the information you need.
Learning how to stop sextortion on Facebook is on every victim’s mind, and there is a way to make that happen in a safe and secure way that prioritizes the victim. Reporting the crime to Facebook will help bring the victim’s account down, but that is the most the platform can offer to stop the act, which isn’t enough.
After reporting the crime and securing their Facebook accounts and other online presence, victims must reach out to authorities and blackmail experts. Online Sextortion is a serious crime that should only be handled by authorities and specialists who know how these criminals work.
After reports are made to local authorities and the FBI, a blackmail expert should be contacted next. There are many resources available to victims for assistance. Digital Forensics is one of the leading companies that can help stop Facebook sextortion and bring back peace to victims. If you or someone you know needs help, contact our sextortion helpline.
In order to keep yourself or loved ones safe, you should follow the steps of prevention:
In instances where an attack or attempt may be in progress, there are many things you can do to keep yourself safe:
For an ongoing attack where threats have been made or a scammer has sexual content from a victim, keep these steps in mind:
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)
It’s time to act now. Don’t hesitate. If you’re a victim this situation needs expert help to stop blackmail on facebook.
Sources:
Leading Countries Based on Facebook Audience Size as of April 2024 | Statista
Share of Facebook Users in the United States as of July 2024, by Age Group | Statista
What is social engineering? | IBM
Financially Motivated Sextortion | FBI
NCMEC
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