How to Avoid Sextortion in Singapore?

Sextortion is taking over the world and various countries are realizing how severe this cybercrime truly is. Sextortion in Singapore has been escalating with countless cyber sexual crimes, such as online extortion. If you currently reside in Singapore and want to know how to avoid this type of crime and where you can seek help, read on.

Is Singapore Sextortion Real?

Sextortion can happen anywhere and to anyone. This type of cybercrime is very real and is claiming victims at an alarming rate! But how has it become so common? Well, the internet has made this form of extortion that much easier. Sextortionists use social media and dating apps to lure their victims in. They disguise their identity through catfish profiles and coerce their victims into sharing explicit content with them. Little do these victims know that they are secretly being recorded. In an article from Interpol, “Asia: Sextortion ring dismantles by police”  Interpol launched a national campaign under the hashtag #YouMayBeNext that included 75 Interpol member countries and 21 public and private entities. Within the campaign, they uncovered a transnational sextortion ring that reeled in USD 47,000 from victims. The majority of victims were said to be linked back to Hong Kong and Singapore. Stephen Kavanagh Interpol’s Executive Director of Police Services makes a crucial statement regarding victims seeking help, “Sextortionists sometimes count on their victims feeling too much shame to go to the police, but reporting these crimes is often the first step to bringing these criminals to justice.”

How to Avoid Sextortion in Singapore?

To successfully avoid becoming a sextortion victim, it’s critical that you are cautious of who you talk to on the internet. It’s important to remember how easy it is to impersonate someone else online. All a cybercriminal needs are fake photos and an alluring conversation. The bottom line is no matter how enticing it is, do not ever send explicit images or videos of yourself to someone over the internet. Once those images are sent, they’re out of your control and you have no idea what that other individual will do with them. If it’s posted online, it will be very hard for the image to come down and if it does, it doesn’t mean that the cybercriminal won’t continue to post the content online or send it to family and friends.

How to Report Singapore Sextortion?

When dealing with internet sextortion victims must reach out for help and report the crime to authorities. We know it’s hard to admit what is happening based on the sensitive content involved, however, if you keep your sextortion silent it will only make things worse and fuel the power of your blackmailer. Before you alert the police, we recommend reporting your blackmailer on the platform the sextortion has taken place. Doing so will provide the chance of getting this criminal off of the platform and banning their account. After reporting the abuse to the platform, you should document the online harassment and threats and head to your local police precinct. They will be able to take your case to Interpol and work side by side to uncover where your blackmailer is located.

Conclusions

Singapore sextortion is something that no one should have to deal with. However, in today’s digital world, it’s making it harder to be able to trust people on the internet. Remember to avoid sharing any private images at all costs, and be cautious of who you speak to online. Sextortion in Singapore is very real so you need to make sure you are taking precautions when scoping around the web.