Picture this – you are minding your own business, scrolling through posts on Instagram. Your phone dings and you’ve just received a message from someone you may or may not know. You go to open that message and notice it’s filled with a lengthy paragraph of harsh words and demands you must fulfill, or your private information and explicit photos will be exposed to all your followers.
You are immediately overcome with feelings of anxiety, panic, and stress, and you have no idea what to do. While this may have been an exercise in imagination for some, for others this is a harsh reality that occurs when a blackmailer ensnares a victim on Instagram.
Cases of blackmail due to catfishing on the Instagram platform, especially in the form of sextortion, have become such a rising issue that Instagram launched new tools in 2024, to help protect their users against intimate image abuse
How Instagram Users Are Targeted for Blackmail
Blackmail is an attempt to obtain goods whether that be money, or favors from a person by threatening to publicize information that would incriminate, embarrass, or tarnish their reputation. Blackmail on Instagram is especially prone to sextortion, the form of blackmail that occurs most frequently on social media using explicit images of a victim, often referred to as nudes.
These blackmailers use social media apps like Snapchat to threaten you by using your own information against you. This can include threatening to publicize sexual and explicit content of you to a group chat containing your friends, family, and co-workers. They then use your fear of embarrassment in order get to their real goal, obtaining money or favors.
Understanding the Tactics of an Instagram Blackmailer
To understand how to respond when someone is blackmailing you on Instagram, you need to understand who your blackmailer likely is, how they will threaten you, and the demands they will make.
- Who Is your Blackmailer: Your blackmailer could be someone you know, but it is more likely someone you do not know. Professional blackmailers tend to use fake accounts to build a sense of trust with their targets, all in the effort to obtain information they can use to extort you.
- The Threats: The threats from your blackmailer will depend on what they have against you. That could be photos, videos, texts, and so on. They will threaten to expose your private information to your loved ones and other members of your personal community which can include co-workers, members of your community, and other connections on social platforms.
- The Demands: It is very important that you understand professional blackmailers do not want to actually expose you. While they have the ability to do so at any time, this will exhaust their leverage over you, preventing them from achieving their real goal… consistent compensation. While your blackmailer could demand something other than money, it is far more likely that their goal is financial compensation.
What steps should you take if you are threatened with blackmail on Instagram?
Now that you are aware of what you may face, it’s time for you to understand the strategies to use if you are a victim of blackmail on Instagram.
- Do Not Pay Them: Most professional blackmailers will start by requesting a lower number – less than one hundred dollars. While this may seem like a minuscule amount to make this problem go away, paying the blackmailer is the easiest way to ensure that they select you as their new favorite target. One request for payment quickly turns into another and then another until you have easily spent hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars unsuccessfully trying to resolve this issue on your own.
- Document What Has Happened: Gathering as much evidence as possible of harassment and threats is so important. You are going to want to take numerous screenshots of the suspect’s social media account, photos, and all of the messages that have been exchanged. This will be beneficial to you once you seek out help from law enforcement and specialists.
- Read This Before Blocking: Should you block them, or shouldn’t you? As mentioned before there is a chance that your perpetrator can be someone you know personally or a complete stranger. This is important. If faced with a blackmailer that you know, you should block them right away.
If you are being blackmailed by a complete stranger on Instagram or someone who may have catfished you, you may not want to block them. Why? It is because blocking the perpetrator will make it more difficult when law enforcement or other help tries to geo-locate them.
We understand that it is hard to be hit with these messages constantly, but blocking your blackmailer could hinder you from stopping their actions all together. Simply keep the suspect at bay with false promises until you’ve been able to seek out help from law enforcement or another blackmail specialist.
- Report Your Blackmailer’s Instagram Account: Reporting your suspect’s Instagram account is vital. Reach out to Instagram’s help center and support requests to make a detailed report on what your situation entails. Supporting your claim with the information you’ve documented will help you ensure that your blackmailer’s account is taken down quickly.
Additional Resources: How to Report A Blackmailer on Instagram.
Don’t Let A Scammer Control Your Life.
We understand that you may want to retreat into the shadows and hope that your blackmailer will leave you alone. But remember, the stronger response is to confront the situation head-on with the support of experts in digital forensics.
At Digital Forensics Corp, our dedicated team of engineers is here to empower you. We specialize in locating your blackmailer and intervening on your behalf to protect your reputation. Our approach targets the criminals where it hurts most—their wallets—ensuring you can gain the upper hand and achieve proof of deletion for any of your personal images, videos, or information.
With a proven track record and a commitment to helping you regain your peace of mind; we are available 24/7 via our Blackmail Hotline to take on your case. Call us at 1-888-210-0574 to speak with a representative today, or connect with us through our web chat for immediate assistance. It’s time to reclaim your life.
SOURCES:
- Instagram Security Update Concerning Sextortion: https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/new-tools-to-help-protect-against-sextortion-and-intimate-image-abuse
