What To Do If Someone is Blackmailing You on Instagram

Picture this – you are minding your own business scrolling through 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 need to fulfill or else you and your private information will be exposed to all of your followers.

Anxiety, panic, and stress start to kick in and you have no idea what to do. In this example, you’d be finding yourself the victim of online blackmail – and if you are currently facing this problem or would like to know What To Do If Someone is Blackmailing You on Instagram, read on.

What is Blackmail?

Blackmailis 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.

Sextortion is the threat to publicize sexual and explicit content in order to obtain money or favors. Due to catfishing and the ability to disguise one’s true self, Instagram sextortion is steadily on the rise.

When faced with blackmail you should expect:

• The Perp

This could be someone you may or may not know. In case of sextortion, it is fairly common to not know who the perpetrator is.

• The Threats

Perpetrators will use anything and everything they have against you. That could be photos, videos, texts, and so on. They will threaten to expose that private information to your loved ones, online, or your job if you don’t comply.

• The Demands

Perpetrators can make numerous demands. They could want money, sexual favors, or confidential information. They will do their best to instill enough fear in you so that you comply with all of their demands.

What To Do If Someone is Blackmailing You on Instagram

Now that you are aware of what you may face, let’s get into which strategies to use when dealing with blackmail on Instagram.

• Documentation

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 law enforcement and specialists.

• Blocking

Should or shouldn’t you block? As I 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 perp that you know, you should block them right away.

Harassing and threatening messages are not something that most people want to deal with on their own. If you have documentation of the harassing or threatening messages, block them immediately so they cannot continue contacting your account again – take all evidence (including screenshots) towards law enforcement if necessary!

If you are being blackmailed by a complete stranger on Instagram, this advice changes. Since there is no telling of where this perpetrator is located and who they are, things can turn bad fast. As far as blackmail and sextortion are concerned, these criminals are quite unpredictable and vicious.

You may think blocking would be the easiest way to end your problem, but it could cause more damage than relief. It would be best to keep the suspect at bay with false promises until you seek out blackmail specialists.

• Reporting

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. This will notify Instagram that their terms and conditions are being violated. They will take down the suspect’s account if not in a few hours, then in a few days.

Seek Out Specialists

Dealing with Instagram blackmailers and sextortionists can be hard for anyone to take on alone. These cases require an experienced investigator to handle them.. If you are ever faced with blackmail or sextortion online, please seek out specialists that know how to approach these criminals.  

Here at Digital Forensics Corp, we’re available to you 24/7 to take on your case and are ready to assist you with your needs.

We come with a 90% success rate in handling these cases and are ready to help you regain your peace of mind. Give us a call at 1-888-210-0574 to speak with someone today, or talk to one of our representatives right now through our web-chat client if you or someone you know has been the victim of sextortion.

Now You Know What To Do If Someone is Blackmailing You on Instagram