Sextortion Targeting Military Members. A Growing Security Threat.

Meeting new people online is a common way to form romantic connections and lasting friendships. Most conversations begins with good intentions and can even be a great way to relax. This is especially true for military service members stationed overseas that may have limited opportunities to socialize person to person.. Since they often can’t leave the base, connecting online can help them build friendships or potential relationships for when they return home for a visit or take some leave.   

Joining a dating app and matching an attractive person may seem harmless  However, problems arise when a service member unknowingly engages with a catfish, someone pretending to be someone else. What starts as an innocent conversation can escalate when the scammer manipulates the victim into sending compromising photos, which are then used for online blackmail.  

Sextortion is a serious problem affecting servicemen, many of whom are unaware of its global reach. Criminal networks in countries like the Ivory Coast, Nigeria and the Philippines run sophisticated scams that specifically target active-duty military personnel.  T  The main target of these scams are younger servicemen in their 20’s, who may be more vulnerable due to inexperience and a lack of awareness about such threats.    

When it comes to servicemen in the military there are more implications and it is more complicated, since it can impact both the serviceperson, and could pose a threat to national security. This is why military sextortion is a major problem, as n individual who is currently deployed or on some type of assignment might have access to sensitive information, creating a scenario where the blackmailer can extort more than just money. They may even be forced to provide military secrets to avoid being exposed.   

Why Military Members are Targeted    

There are a multitude of reasons why military members are targeted for sextortion and some of obvious, but others will surprise you.  Things like the following include: 

1. Sextortionists see the servicemen as having easy access to money since they work for the military and have knowledge of how to send payments.
2. They are easy targets as the perpetrators know the potential and opportunity in threatening to damage someone’s career from exposure of sextortion.
3. If the serviceperson gets caught, there is the fear of disciplinary action and that could also have an impact on their security clearance.
4. With all the social media and dating apps out there, this could lead to an increase in exposure, when and if threatened with sextortion.
5. Military personnel might be more sheltered from the world of online blackmail and not so suspicious of sextortion criminals. And they are not aware of the tactics a catfish will use to trick people into providing the content they are looking for to use against them.

Common Tactics Used To Sextort Military Personnel 

There are many ways that online criminals use to manipulate servicemen, to lead them down the trail to military sextortion: 

1. On popular dating apps, perpetrators create fake or catfish profiles of attractive people which they stole from another profile, in hopes that someone will fall for it. Or they will match/connect with them to start the threatening and aggressive manipulation. 
2. They can often take the route of Military Law Enforcement Impersonation where they get an innocent victim online via a social app and then fraudulently claim to be law enforcement threatening disciplinary action unless compensated. Similar to the how the famous “FBI Virus” used to work. 

Common Threats Used to Extort Targets 

The online criminals are sophisticated on how they operate and know what to go after when using a sextortion scam targeting active-duty military for online blackmail. 

1. They find a target and have something on them like a provocative photo, video, or text message. They will turn it around on the serviceman threatening exposure to command, or their family member, and colleagues. Their main tactic to manipulate you will be to push the idea of ruining your current or post military career. 
2. They will use deepfake tech and AI generated content to increase threats.  AI content now can look and act real, deceiving military personnel to provide content. This includes sensitive personal information that can be used against them by the criminals to start the sextortion. 

Consequences of Falling Victim

There are lots of consequences that can occur from sextortion targeting servicemen: 

1. When a military person is seduced into sextortion, and is then threatened with public exposure and embarrassment, this could lead to criminals requesting money.  This can cause the innocent person financial hardship from being coerced into making ransom payments. 
2. Sextortion demands could go even further, by threatening the servicemen with not just by requesting money, but demanding military intelligence. This could be a national security risk, just to avoid unwanted exposure online.

Preventing Sextortion Scams From the Start

There are many things you can do to avoid falling prey to military sextortion: 

1. Always use best practices when protecting yourself with online privacy and with dating app interactions.  Never send questionable or provocative photos, videos or use bad judgement when first meeting someone online, until you get to know them. 
2. Keep your eyes out for red flags when first meeting someone on an app, like fake photos/profiles, or aggressive behavior. The perpetrator might push too fast in making you do something you are not comfortable doing. 
3. If you suspect that you are talking to an online predator who is trying to catfish you, immediately report it to the app administrators or monitors. 

What To Do If You Are A Victim 

Here are the steps to take if you have been manipulated into military sextortion: 

1. Stay calm, this is the time to start thinking logically, not emotionally 
2. Stop communicating or comply to the perpetrator, and do not pay them 
3. If you do what they say, this will only make things worse 
4. Start to gather all the evidence from the conversation that you use against the criminal  

Who To Report The Crime to

There are several enforcement agencies, military cybersecurity units you can talk to and third-party support: 

1. Military Cybersecurity Units: They are available and in the business of protecting the military’s network, systems, and data from cyberattacks. 
2. Federal Law Enforcement: This is a combination of the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Justice, 
3. Third Party Support: This includes companies like cyber security firms who specialize in tracking down the perpetrators and bringing them to justice. 

Military and Government Response to Sextortion 

The government’s research has shown that many of the victims are the military’s most junior troops, who are away from home for the first time. They want to find a connection to combat loneliness and being away from family and friends. Most of the effort from the government agencies is on prevention of sextortion by communicating to servicemen about the dangers of online blackmail. They stress the importance of getting to know people better before you attempt to do anything risky to protect yourself.   

Some of the international organizations that combat cybercrime include the United Nations Convention against cybercrime and the Commonwealth of Independent States. They have an agreement to exchange articles on information exchange, legal assistance, and cybercrime prevention.  

Do You Need Help? 

If you believe you have been a victim of sextortion targeting servicemen, we are here to help so you can put this behind you. Our experts are skilled at sextortion targeting servicemen and how to deal with online blackmail.  Catfishing and sextortion are considered cybercrimes and the perpetrators need to be punished for this illegal activity.  Call us today on our Sextortion Helpline.  Our experts are available 24/7 and your calls are strictly confidential. 

DISCLAIMER: THIS POST IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSIDERED LEGAL ADVICE ON ANY SUBJECT MATTER. DIGITAL FORENSICS CORP. IS NOT A LAWFIRM AND DOES NOT PROVIDE LEGAL ADVICE OR SERVICES. By viewing posts, the reader understands there is no attorney-client relationship, the post should not be used as a substitute for legal advice from a licensed professional attorney, and readers are urged to consult their own legal counsel on any specific legal questions concerning a specific situation.