What To Do If Someone Blackmails You on Snapchat

Snapchat is a messaging app that allows users to send pictures and videos that disappear after a certain amount of time. This makes it a popular app for sexting, as the images sent are not permanent. 

If you have faced blackmail on Snapchat, the common question is what to do if someone blackmails you on Snapchat. However, recent reports have shown that Snapchat can be used for more nefarious means, like online blackmail. 

If someone threatens to release intimate photos or videos of you unless you do what they want, what should you do? Read on for advice.

What Is Snapchat Blackmail?

Snapchat is a social media app that takes a unique approach to interacting with friends, family, and other users. The app has a very large user base with their primary demographic being young people. Snapchat allows its users to send images and videos and have conversations that are all intended to expire after 24 hours.

Where some social media apps focus on building a social presence, Snapchat avoids leaving a trail of its use. This can lead to scammers that use catfish techniques to screenshot explicit photos for the purpose of sextortion. 

A sextortion scam is a form of extortion that falls under the umbrella of romance scams, where scammers aim to obtain nude photos from their victims. In exchange for not sharing the intimate images, they will ask for payment through money, gift cards, or more in-app sexual encounters.

Scammers who obtain sexual content from their victims will blackmail their target by threatening to expose them. Many fraudsters will do due diligence on their victim by finding their family, friends, or coworkers. The scammer will threaten to share explicit images, videos, or conversations with people close to the victim to get the payment they seek. 

The scammer will look for payment in methods that are harder to trace. They will ask for gift cards, cryptocurrency, or more content, which they may later use to exploit their victim further.

Can You Be Blackmailed on Snapchat?

Snapchat is a beneficial app blackmailers can use for many reasons, including:

• Anonymity: There is no telling who is messaging you.

• Quick way to send messages, videos, photos
• They can screenshot or screen record your photos or videos.
• You can easily delete their threats and messages after review
• Users can see locations

Your blackmailer can see where you are at all times and play into the scare mongering. In short, yes people faced with blackmail on Snapchat. Using these features, cybercriminals can lure in their victims, manipulate them into sending explicit content, and ultimately threaten them with exposure if they don’t get what they demand.

What To Do If Someone is Blackmailing You Online

Here are some simple steps you can take to protect yourself from a blackmailer and keep your harasser at bay until you seek professional help from law enforcement and cyber-crime specialists.

1. Document every interaction you’ve had with your harasser; this includes photos, videos, messages, call logs, etc.
   
2. Find a support system in loved ones like family members and close friends; victims of blackmail need all the support they can get.
   
3. Lock down your online presence, which includes your Snapchat account, all of your social media accounts, bank accounts, business platforms, email, etc.
   
4. Always seek out help from your local authorities, the FBI, and blackmail specialists and make a report.
   

If you are a victim of online blackmail, it is important to reach out for help. You can find support from organizations like the National Cyber Security Alliance and Stay Safe Online. Additionally, you should report the incident to authorities. 

Now you know what to do if someone blackmails you on Snapchat, it’s time to act. The sooner you take action, the sooner you can stop the perpetrator and protect yourself from further harm. Have you been a victim of online blackmail? Share your story in the comments below.

Sources:

Distribution of Snapchat users worldwide as of January 2024, by age and gender | Statista

Romance Scams | FBI