How to Deal with Sextortion on Twitter

There is something special about Twitter. The microblogging and social networking service, that makes it different when compared to other social media platforms. The platform has grown a universal understanding that if you want to know more about anything regarding entertainment, politics, or sports you should head to Twitter under their ‘trending’ page to get all of the juicy scoops and gossip.  The platform has also drawn in more of a malicious form of gossip known as sextortion. In this article – How to Deal with Sextortion on Twitter. We’ll give you some useful advices

Just like many other social media platforms, Twitter is under fire. Especially when it comes to sextortionists seeking out their next meal ticket. In this article, we will discuss how to deal with sextortion on Twitter and what steps you should take.

Why Twitter?

You might be thinking why Twitter? Why do these suspects choose certain platforms to sextort on rather than others? What can this platform offer this suspect that others can’t?  Twitter is unique in that it allows for the display of limited adult content without any consequences.

That might be shocking to most people and the platform understands that not every user is going to want that type of content available to them on their timeline. So they created a happy medium for users. According to their sensitive media policy, “you can’t include violent, hateful, or adult content within areas that are highly visible on Twitter. 

If you share this content on Twitter, you need to mark your account as sensitive. Doing so places images and videos behind an interstitial, that needs to be acknowledged before your media can be viewed.

Using this feature means that people who don’t want to see sensitive media can avoid it, or make an informed decision before they choose to view it. We also restrict specific sensitive media, such as adult content, for viewers who are under 18. Or viewers who do not include a birth date on their profile.

”This is a massive benefit to sextortionists and their ability to post their victims explicit content online, without any red flags. This can be terrifying to most and can seem like your content could stay on Twitter forever. But there are still strict rules and policies regarding the platform and its adult content.

Under their non-consensual nudity policy, they show some examples of what can violate this policy:

• Hidden camera content.   Featuring nudity, partial nudity, and/or sexual acts;

• Creepshots or up skirts. Images or videos taken of people’s buttocks, up an individual’s skirt/dress or other clothes that allows people to see the person’s genitals, buttocks, or breasts;

• images or videos that superimpose or otherwise digitally manipulate an individual’s face onto another person’s nude body;
• images or videos that are taken in an intimate setting and not intended for public distribution; and
• offering a bounty or financial reward in exchange for intimate images or videos

The threat of making your content go ‘viral’ or ‘trending’ is another reason Twitter can be beneficial for a suspect to use. Although it’s important to know that these criminals will say anything and everything to get you scared enough to what they want. Realistically, it is extremely difficult for anyone to go viral on Twitter.  You either one, have to have thousands of followers already or two, have a funny and or relatable tweet which is highly unlikely to come from a sextortionist.

The majority of suspects have a very low number of followers and if they do have a hefty number, those accounts could either be bots, or other fake accounts the suspects has made or his accomplices, meaning if they were to post your content on their profile it’s unlikely lots of people would be able to see it.  

How Can You Keep Yourself Safe Online?

Once your content is posted online, especially on a platform that allows adult content, reporting becomes extremely vital! The chances ofgetting your content take down is solemnly based on your documentation and proof that you did NOT give anyone consent to post your private content.

Once your content has been reviewed and deemed a violation, Twitter will immediately and permanently suspend the suspect’s account. There is a high chance that if the suspects account should be suspended and removed, the suspect can and most likely will create another account. So they keep trying to post your content until they receive their demand.

This is a common tactic these criminals use to persuade their victim to believe there is no way out of this nightmare, which is not true. Here are some tips to use to use to keep yourself safer online

• document everything
• report and block any and all suspicious accounts that contact you
• keep strong privacy skills at all times
• do not send explicit images or videos online to anyone
• try to avoid accepting any new friend requests because it could be the suspect

Who can help with sextortion?

In summary, Cyber-criminals are lurking on every social media platform, and it has become harder to spot them. We hope that you have found this article helpful and that you use these tips to keep yourself safer online.

If you have any questions are want any more information regarding online sextortion or other cyber-crimes, give us a call or chat with us online. We are available to you 24/7 and are happy to help you navigate through any potential trouble. Now You know How to Deal with Sextortion on Twitter. 

You may also be interested in reporting other types of sextortion on social media such as Facebook Sextortion & Instagram Sextortion