SEXTORTION/WEBCAM BLACKMAIL SCAM HELP.
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Take the time to read all the pages here carefully. Each piece of information and each step is essential in dealing with this scam, and none should be missed out.
IMPORTANT!
We will NOT help you if you knowingly engaged in any sexual talk with a minor (under 18) unless you are also a minor.
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WHAT IS A BLACKMAIL/WEBCAM SEXTORTION SCAM?
Blackmail scams are becoming a common trend among scammers. It's a fast-run scam that can lead to people losing thousands of dollars. The scam involves the victim being duped into stripping and acting in a sexual manner on webcam. The webcam footage is recorded and played back to the victim who sees himself acting inappropriately on video footage. The scammer then blackmails the victim with the threat to send it to the victim’s friends and family via social networking unless the victim pays up or more content is sent.
We'll be discussing the type of sextortion here that involves money demands and mainly targets males. If you're a female and/or the demands are for more images/videos, the details given at the start will be different, but the steps we advise to deal with it are going to be almost the same. The only differences will be to completely delete and abandon your social media accounts rather than just deactivate them, and stay away from social media for an absolute minimum of 3 months (but we'd recommend 6 months or more if at all possible).
HOW DOES THE SCAM WORK?
These scams are most often run by people in Morocco, Ivory Coast or the Philippines. Despite the illusion that the the person is "live", they are in fact using stolen video footage in order to make the person think they're the female in front of the camera. Footage of a scantily-clad female in front of a webcam can be easily obtained with nothing more than a simple internet search.
It's even possible to find software that enables a degree of interaction so long as the other person only asks for simple tasks such as “wave to me”, “touch your nose”, or “blow me a kiss”. Armed with this, the scammer needs just two programs.
Firstly, he'll get “virtual webcam” software which he’ll use to broadcast through his webcam. Secondly, he’ll use another program to record the victim's camera. Despite some scammers claiming to be hackers, all they're doing is using readily available software and very simple methods, both of which have been around for over a decade. The rest is nothing more than threatening words.
Next he registers on a website/app and starts looking for victims, or simply waits to be contacted. These scammers can appear anywhere online, so nowhere can be considered "safe". After some chit-chat, he lures the victim with the promise of a "show" to an instant messaging program such as Skype, or uses the site/app's built in webcam chat facilities.
The scammer may ask to be added to the victim’s Facebook contacts if initial contact is made on a different site/app. People have asked us how the scammer managed to find their Facebook profile when they didn't give it to them. The answer is very simple. The scammer only needs to do a quick search using what they already have, such as the person's name and what they look like. Often, that's all they need.
The scammer plays his fake footage through his virtual webcam. The victim responds and - well, we don’t need to go into what the victim is doing at this time, do we? All this time the scammer is recording the victim’s webcam footage without their knowledge.
The scammer will either play it back to the victim or upload it to a site such as YouTube and send the victim the link. In most cases they simply play the footage back directly to the victim rather than go to the effort of uploading it. The scammer demands money or that you register on various sites, and shows a list of the person's Facebook friends/family to increase the threat. The scammer typically demands to be paid through a money transfer site such as Western Union. This is so that they can collect the money anonymously.
We also see scammers claiming to be character's "pimp" and part of a cartel. They write and use threats of murder unless they are paid for their "girl's" wasted time, even sending images of decapitated or mutilated bodies to amp up the threat factor. They are NOT part of a cartel, this is just a lie to scare you. If this happens to you, please do not send us the images they sent you. We know how bad they are, we can't post them, and we really don't need to see any more of them!
Likewise, we don't need the incriminating images of you the scammer sent. All we need are the ones the scammer sent claiming that they're that person to help with our research.
Amounts typically range from $50 to $5000, but can be as much as tens of thousands of dollars. "Negotiations" are common at this point, as the scammer determines how much you have and can send. Paying anything at all should never be an option, as in most cases this leads to more money demands being made, and for larger amounts.
Sometimes the scammer will have a second account claiming to be part of YouTube that will also contact you with threats about the video. They may even threaten to send the video to the media. None of this is going to happen, and is nothing more than a scare tactic. You can safely ignore these. You're not going to suddenly appear naked on the Ellen Degeneres Show or the front page of La Figaro!
If they did use a second account to do this, please add those details into the form you'll see later on as well.
WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I'VE BEEN TARGETED?
The first thing to do is take a deep breath, compose yourself and think clearly. Don't panic. Closely follow the steps we will give you, without missing any out. What we're looking to do is get the video removed if they posted one, block the scammer from all avenues of contact and set up an alert in case the video ever does resurface. The last step is purely a precaution, but it's worth doing for peace of mind.
We've dealt with over 30,000 cases, and the success rate for the steps we advise is over 99.95% provided they are ALL followed. Don't miss out any, especially the one that says to deactivate your Facebook profile. Of all the steps, this is the most important one. We understand that you want to keep it open to make sure that the scammer doesn't post anything, but it needs to be deactivated. If it wasn't 100% essential then we wouldn't be telling you to do it.
1. Do NOT pay. Many who have paid have said that the scammer came back with demands for even more money. Once they're blocked, they can't contact you. If they can't contact you, they can't threaten you so move on fairly quickly. If you have paid, check to see if the money has been collected. If it has, then there's nothing you can do to get it back. If it hasn't, then you can cancel the payment. The sooner you do that the better, but if it makes you feel more secure then you can hold back on cancelling it until you've completed the steps. They should take no more than around 15 minutes.
2. Make a note of the scammer's details so they can be reported in order to help protect others. Skype name, Facebook URL, any photos that were sent and the details you're given to send the money to will be useful in alerting others. The more information we have on the scammer, the more able we are to help others from falling into the same trap. These scammers can target 40 or so people a day with the same script, so they won't know who posted their details up. We will post their details anonymously on your behalf. Please be sure to fill in as many details as you can.
If you've already deactivated your accounts, do not go back and reopen them to get any information. Only post their details if you can get them without logging back in. If you haven't deactivated your accounts yet, then quickly get any information you have but do NOT respond to the scammer while there. At the same time, you can deactivate the accounts as explained in our steps.
Be aware that the scammer's Skype name is different to their Skype username. To get that, right click on their profile, select "View Profile" and then look for the name shown in blue.
See how the name is Kim Soriano, but the username is kim.soriano1624
The username is what we need. Many people can share the same name, but usernames are unique.
We need the scammer's details, not only to warn others but to tailor our advice to you based on things like their location and if you paid them. If you decide to not post the scammer's details, or deliberately put in incorrect information, we will NOT help you. The exchange of information has to be a 2 way street for the site to work.
Remember, you found this site and the help it contains because someone else shared their scammer's information first. Doing the same will help others who are going through what you are now.
Be sure to fill the form in correctly. We do all we can to check the forms, but we cannot be held liable for any sections containing incorrect information.
The form is completely secure. None of your information can be seen by 3rd parties.
We ask for your details purely so we can inform you of any updates, or contact you for more information if needed. The only people who can see this are the site staff. The steps will follow once the form is completed.
We advise you to not use any Microsoft based email addresses when filling in the form,as you may not receive the link to the steps if you do. These include ones ending in @outlook.com, @hotmail.com and @live.com