Extortion

Broadly speaking, there are three types of online extortion against private individuals, the first two of which fall under organised crime:

• sextortion emails are spam-style blackmail, where criminals send out huge numbers of intimidating emails claiming that the sender has sensitive information about the target (compromising videos, adult content found on the user’s computer, police proceedings) and hoping that the victim will be scared into responding to the email or paying the requested amount;
• sextortion schemes are extortion schemes where the perpetrators lure the target into disclosing some compromising content (for example, a perpetrator posing as a young woman entices a male target to make a video call and reveal private body parts), and as soon as they receive the video or photo, they threaten to send it to the friends and family of the target or to post it on social media;
• extortion organised by individuals or a smaller group of acquaintances (e.g. ex-partners, classmates, but also casual acquaintances met online), using compromising material obtained during the relationship (which can be sent by the target or stolen from their device). Such extortion is also common in cyberbullying cases involving children.

Below, you will find more detailed descriptions of the different types of cyber extortion, measures for preventing them, and steps to take if you become a victim.

Sextortion emails

This is a very popular type of extortion email among scammers, which is sent out en masse and is essentially spam. The aim of these emails is to blackmail money from the target by using various scare tactics. Scammers will often write that they have managed to hack into your computer and filmed you doing indecent things or that they have found child pornography on your computer and if you refuse to pay them money, they will send the indecent videos/photos to your friends and colleagues or to the police.

In the case of sextortion emails, several methods are used to create panic and emphasise the gravity of the letter. Usually, these letters contain some details about you (for example, the letter is sent from your own address and contains your former password to another system, obtained from a data leak), a threat, and instructions about where to transfer the money. The scammers hope that the person will panic and pay the requested amount.

One example is given here:

How to avoid sextortion emails?

Sextortion emails are usually common spam and cannot be completely avoided. It is worth keeping your digital footprint to a minimum and managing your digital life consciously to avoid such emails scaring you too much or causing worry.

What should you do if you have received a sextortion email?

There is no need to worry about sextortion emails – they are usually fake emails and CERT-EE recommends that you ignore them. To our knowledge, there have been no incidents where the threat in the email has been carried out. If the scammers were serious and had any compromising material on you, they would have included it in the first message.

Sextortion schemes

Sextortion schemes are a form of cybercrime where criminals lure the target into disclosing compromising content (for example, a perpetrator posing as a young woman lures a male target into making a video call and revealing private body parts, or a user is sent pornographic images which are later claimed to be child pornography). After the criminals manage to obtain a sensitive video or photo, they will immediately threaten to send the information to the friends and family of the target or post it on social media if the target fails to pay the amounts demanded by the criminals. Such schemes are carried out by criminal organisations with a clear division of labour (one team manipulates the victim into making a video and the other team engages in later extortion).

How can you avoid becoming a victim of sextortion?

• Think about the content you send online and to whom you send it as well as with whom you make video calls.
  • Consider the possibility that the other party may not be who they say they are. For example, behind the profile of a pretty girl, there could be a roomful of cybercriminals from an exotic country.
  • If someone sends you erotic content online and asks you for the same, think about how you would behave in a similar situation in the real world. Would you ignore such a person or would you get naked in front of a stranger you just met?
• Leave all sexual content in the real world, avoid sending erotic and pornographic photos and videos, sexting (sending messages with sexual content), etc.
  • Block people online who send you erotic content because criminals can send naked pictures and then start blackmailing you because of them.

What should you do if you have fallen victim to sextortion?

Victims of sextortion often hope that paying the blackmailers will solve the problem and the blackmailers will delete the compromising material. However, this is not usually the case and paying only lets the extortionist know that the target is willing to pay and can be pressured further. If you are a victim of sextortion (or your child is a victim):

• Cut off communication with the criminal and block their account.
• Although attacks of this kind are generally international and the chances of catching the perpetrators and recovering the money are very low, it is still worth filing a report to the police. You can also get advice on cyber extortion from your local web constable.
• Tell your friends and family what has happened. It might be embarrassing, but the attackers exploit this embarrassment.

Extortion between people

Extortion by individuals or a small group of acquaintances (such as ex-partners, classmates, but also casual online acquaintances) uses compromising material obtained during the relationship, which could have been sent by the target, stolen from their device, or the target may have been tricked into sharing it. The aim could be to blackmail the victim into paying money, sharing new compromising material, or something else entirely.

Often, extortion between individuals is also part of bullying incidents between children at school and online. It is therefore important that parents explain to their children how to protect themselves and what steps to take if they have become the target of extortion.

The risk of extortion for revenge or other personal reasons can be significantly reduced by monitoring your behaviour and the material that you share about yourself. You should consider the following when it comes to cyberspace:

• Only post and send material in messaging apps that will not harm anyone, should it become public. To help you decide before posting, you might want to think about whether you would be embarrassed if the material you are about to post would be seen by, for example, your boss or your grandmother.
• Leave all sexual content in the real world, avoid sending erotic and pornographic photos and videos, sexting (sending messages with sexual content), etc.
• Do not allow dubious videos or photos to be taken of you even at parties or in more private moments – even if the other party is very willing and seems friendly.
• Explain to your children that everything that is posted online (both in social media apps and social networking apps), stays online, and anyone might be able to access it.

What should you do if you have fallen victim to extortion?

Extortion is a crime and the extortioner, not the target, is responsible for the extortion.
The target of extortion usually experiences fear and embarrassment and would prefer to hide the situation or give in to the blackmailer to make the problem go away. However, this does not usually work; instead, it encourages the attacker. If you have become the target of extortion (or your child is the victim):

• Ignore the extortionist and block their account.
• File a report to the police. You can also get advice on cyber extortion from your local web constable.
• Tell your friends and family what has happened. It can be embarrassing, but it leaves the extortionist without one of their main weapons and allows your family members and friends to support you.
• When the victim of extortion is a child, the situation is very difficult for them and can have serious consequences. Be supportive and avoid getting angry with your child, no matter what mistakes they have made that have led to this situation.