How to Handle Sextortion – What You Need to Know!

 Catfishing. Scam-bait. Blackmail. Sextortion. Phrases no one should think they’ll ever have to hear in their day-to-day lives, but unfortunately these forms of cyber-crime are becoming all-too common in our online world. If you’re a sextortion victim, we have some tips here on how to handle sextortion.

Thanks to the anonymity afforded by the world wide web, there are those taking advantage of and abusing the good will and faith of denizens of the internet, all in the name of the almighty dollar. The most plentiful form of cyber-crime sweeping our society is, by and large, sextortion.

Stop us if you have heard this one: you meet someone online, on social media or a dating application, and you start talking. However, they quickly turn the conversation towards romance, and perhaps you become leery – why would an otherwise stranger dive so quickly into wanting to get intimate? For some, sextortion stops there – when the situation begins to no longer line-up – but for others the steps go further.

The conversation is either strongly convincing enough or the victim possibly desperate enough for intimacy and romance (No judgments! We’re all human, after all!) that the culprit can convince the victim to send them compromising material – typically of a sexually explicit nature.

From here, sextortionists will hold this content hostage, blackmailing their victims for money or favors in return. Being sextorted isn’t a situation anyone should have to go through without guidance. Here’s what you need to know!  

 How can handle sextortion? – The Do’s and Don’ts

When first finding yourself being sextorted, you may at first have many questions racing through your brain, all while the sextortionist is breathing down your neck. Follow these immediate steps:  

• Keep Calm

Take a few deep breaths. Attempt to center yourself. The blackmailer can wait a few moments for you to respond (but don’t respond yet!).

• Document The Conversation 

Any communication you have had with the blackmailer, save it. If you are concerned on platforms like Snapchat that doing so may anger them, look into downloading screen-recording apps or seeing what innate screen-recording functions your device may have; often, recording the screen will not trigger in-app alerts of screenshotting.

• Stall for Time

 By now, especially for more aggressive sextortionists, there may be a demand for response or a direct threat of exposure from a blackmailer. Produce a detailed excuse to stall for time –the more plausible, the better. Remember: these people care about money more than anything, so as long as they think they will get paid, will wait. If they give up your content too soon or too broadly, they lose their bargaining power.

Should you ever pay a blackmailer?

• Do Not Pay Sextortionists 

When it comes to how to handle sextortion, the conflict is both digital and psychological – paying sextortionists signals you are in a mental state that is either manipulatable, or at the minimum suggestible. They will only keep coming at you for more if you pay them.

• Lock Down Privacy and Privileges

Any social media accounts or profiles that sextortionists may not yet have access to, set rigid privacy policies about the display of any information or connections (whether friends or followers) your profile may have from a public-facing view.

• Talk to Someone You Trust

Sharing your experiences with another person may help you gain insight. And not leave you to burden the stress of your situation alone. Being sextorted does not mean you have to be alone.

• File a Police Report 

This a standard recommendation. It may be potentially frightening but documenting that you are indeed the victim of a situation can go a long way if things do not go well. Bear in mind most police departments are not comprehensively equipped or trained to deal with and stop sextortionists.  Many sextortionists are based outside the country.

How to handle sextortion?

Do some research – there are numerous resources, individuals, and organizations that can offer advice and services in helping you deal with and recover from sextortion and online blackmail.

  There are a plethora of resources to help report sextortion while you figure out what you need to know. Not every strategy works in favor of every situation, given sextortionists appearing from a wide array of sources and a large breadth of platforms.

We do count ourselves among the companies that can show you how to handle sextortion. And help you manage your situation with our services discreetly and privately. Our experts and analysts have an over 90% success rate in combatting sextortion online.  And have been successful in stopping online blackmail for thousands of clients.

If you faced with sextortion – contact us ASAP. Sextortion victims should give us a call, or chat with one of our representatives online.   Our team is available 24/7 to hear your situation.

We’ve helped thousands to overcome Sextortion on Social Media. We have experts for fighting with Sextortion on Facebook, Instagram Sextortion and other types of online sextortion