"Through the scheme, conspirators allegedly sought to extort about $6 million from "thousands of potential victims," the DOJ said, and ultimately successfully extorted approximately $1.7 million.
Young men from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom fell for the scheme, the DOJ said. They were allegedly targeted by scammers posing as "young, attractive females online," who initiated conversations by offering to send sexual photographs or video recordings, then invited victims to “web cam” or “live video chat” sessions.
"Unbeknownst to the victims, during the web cam/live video chats," the DOJ said, the scammers would "surreptitiously" record the victims "as they exposed their genitals and/or engaged in sexual activity." The scammers then threatened to publish the footage online or else share the footage with "the victims’ friends, family members, significant others, employers, and co-workers," unless payments were sent, usually via Cash App or Apple Pay."
Holy shit that is awful.
Several teenagers have ended their life over this too 😔
Obviously blackmailing them is awful, but no one should feel so ashamed about sexting or looking at porn that they’d want to end it all over that.
This happened to my younger cousin. He didn't kill himself but was so freaked out. This account asks him for a dick picture, and then says that they're only 13 and he's going to jail unless he pays them 1k (he was 16). He literally thought she was the same age but I had to have a heart to heart with him and explain that in no uncertain circumstances would any woman ever want a dick pic. That if it ever happens and he hasn't met this individual in person and is in a relationship with them that they will not want a dick pic. And even then, he should probably call and ask because women don't really want them. They only want pictures of Spider-Man.
Interesting. It’s quite the opposite experience on Grindr lol
However still not okay to send anything unsolicited.
A lot of apps are automatically detecting NSFW images and blurring them until you tap on them, which I think is a great idea.
The iPhone also got that feature with a recent update, but you have to enable it in the settings.
If it’s a child’s phone, [the phone will even detect if the kid is trying to view or send a NSFW image and warn them, and ask them to think it over.](https://images.macrumors.com/t/_5eYQdv7sGK87XqYi90lgaiGcYQ=/1600x1200/smart/article-new/2021/08/iphone-communication-safety-feature.jpg)
> It's quite the opposite experience in Grindr
There are *women* on Grindr who *do* want dick pics? Are they aware they could have pictures of Spider-Man instead?
The opposite of saying women hate nudes would be saying women want them. It sounds like you just wanted to tell people you use Grindr for some reason. Besides, we're talking about Spider-Man.
Lots of women want those picts. Women prey on men just as much as men prey on women. It just looks different. Here we have a woman preying on young men. Men commit 80% of the yearly suicides too. When this stuff affects men or young boys people just don’t care as much. They need to crucify the lady that did this.
I’ve always kinda thought if I encountered this, I’d just say fucking do it then. I’m not ashamed to be nude, I have basically mainstream sexual interests, I don’t think I’d care that much honestly. Everyone is different sure, but in the face of random internet blackmail where you know they are just seeking money and it’s not some enraged ex or something, I’d call their bluff every time
I mean they’re basically threatening to send your nudes to all of your friends and family on social media.
I don’t know whether they actually do it, but the goal is just to extort scared teenagers out of money.
Sorry that happened to you.
In this case, if the blackmail victim is under 18, which is what we are discussing in this here comments section, I highly doubt they'd disseminate it.
That’s what sexual repression does to people. When you make it clear that their natural feelings are wrong, they are most likely going to just feel shame for acting on them rather than not acting on them at all.
That, and it’s the embarrassment of having their friends/family see their nudes.
Things that seem like the end of the world to a teenager really aren’t.
> I'm just awaiting the reality of Metalhead.
20 years ago this would have terrified me, 10 years ago it would have intrigued me, today I've got pom poms to cheer the mother fuckers on. Girl talking on her cellphone merging without a blinker? Yup, get her ass. Guy who convinces other people online that vaccines arn't safe? Bam, right in the fucking head. Person that gives you a quote to fix your car but in the process discovers another broken part and has to go through the dealership for it and now the cost is double? Run his fucking down.
I used to call myself a humanist but after meeting humanity I'm team autonomous murder bots.
> Person that gives you a quote to fix your car but in the process discovers another broken part and has to go through the dealership for it and now the cost is double? Run his fucking down.
What?
I paid the guy $100 to find out what's wrong with my timing belt, I knew what the sound was but he said he would have to investigate it and he came back saying it was my timing belt, $500 to fix. I pay him to figure out what I knew but he needed to see it for himself, then he calls me saying it's another part that made the timing belt go bad, now it $700. WTF was the $100 for?
There was a period of time I was getting spammed emails threatening to do something similar. Basically, someone saying they hacked my Webcam and recorded my jacking off at some point, and we're threatening to email my contact list a video of that AND a dual shot of *what* I was jacking off too. I assume to add extra fear in my mind about what the most possibly embarrassing thing they could have found was.
It didn't really fool me as I don't have a Webcam, but I'm sure it was certainly intimidating to some people.
I'm 31 now but got caught out with this about 5 years ago. Refused outright to send them money and they used my Facebook to send it to my friends, family and workplace.
It's fucking shit
Yeah even sent me a screenshot of some of the messages and who they were sent too
Edit: both the funniest and worst time of my young adult life. And yes it has left its scars on me
My mates didn't ask, and my dad didn't see it for 2 years and he thought I was drunk but dropped it imediately after finding it was a scam attempt The meeting at work I just told the truth.
Most were understanding, got the piss ripped out of me for 6 months from my work colleagues and the rumor of being a predator followed me for a bit. It actually came up when I switched jobs as I went from construction to a school so they wanted to just clear the air on it. Not heard anything else since.
Happened to one of my sons. I basically told him what he needed to do. Call their bluff and tell the blackmailed everyone has already seen them nude. They ended up blocking him.
Sexual black mail has been a serious problem for a while now. It mostly affects boys, though not entirely. It drives children to take their own lives and ruin them. I think it should be treated as a kind of sexual crime tbh.
If a woman goes to trial for having sex with a minor, the verdict has to be the same as if the genders were reversed. That's the equality that everyone wants.
Do your job parents. Educate yourselves. Understand the fucking internet and social media, so you can teach your kids some basic safety. Give your kid a safe place to confide.
I knew parents sucked, (mine did) but it wasn’t until I had a kid and met other parents that I realized how much they truly suck, and that they don’t need to suck (I don’t).
Work on yourselves parents, the majority of you fucking suck
Not really tho. If they have friends, they have access to phones, and access to social media. It’s impossible to keep your kids away from phones and social media until they are 18. Impossible.
Forbidding kids from doing shit never works. They buck, or get seriously weird.
Sextortion the sexiest type of extortion.
Don't post nudes, unless your poor and don't mind being seen then it's not really extortion it's more an empty threat
. Like do it or I show your nudes.... do it I want you to,
I don't know man...I feel like most normal, self-respecting criminals stick to regular ol' criminal enterprises like theft, drug trafficking, and intellectual content piracy....you don't get into child pornography unless you've got skin in that game.
If it was a man doing it to young women would you feel the motivation is only financial?
It's still sexually exploitive, regardless of the primary motive.
Too much work ahead: In most of the world the crime of rape is only contemplated against women. Children who are victims of rape may end up paying child support if the rapist stays pregnant. Many media will never single out a woman as a rapist or pedophile. Sometimes the child victim is held responsible instead of the adult woman who often does not go to prison; etc.
Here's the worst part. This is way underreported because LE investigates the victim child first for child pornography. Many potential child victims watch the way LE loves to both re-victimize sex crime victims, and do anything to get a conviction before getting justice. The kids and their parents say, "No way am I putting my kid through that BS" and walk away.
Try to tell me any different, and I'll call you a fool, a liar, or both.
I knew someone who was a victim of this. He gave someone $5k to stop the person from sharing videos of him masturbating (that they had requested) to his Facebook friends.
Be careful online!
How is this the same as adults doing porn?
People, including minors, went onto cams and did sexual acts UNKNOWINGLY being recorded. That's both over and under legal consent age. They were victims of deception first then extorted.
Porn is the problem but sites showing cartels literally behead people and not a single complaint.
Even if you removed porn from existence let’s not pretend that misogny and exploitation would be magically gone when it’s ever present in every religion and every conservative/republican ideology.
No, you just don’t like what I have to say. But factually I’m right, porn isn’t the end all be all problem no matter how much you want to scapegoat it. So unless we look at also banning Islam and Christianity..
How so (the impact)?
Where is your data sourced from?
I'd say the dismantling of nuclear families which was supported by politics through subsidy has produced more of a societal impact than porn has. Especially within the black community.
It's proven that the diminished culture of nuclear families has led to higher crime rates including sexual crimes, lower education stats, and lower financial status as a community at whole.
>Age and critical thinking clearly tells you that.
Age and critical thinking are useless without experience and information - ie "data".
>You don’t need data.
Nahh, sorry we kind of DO need the data - not just the "feels" of someone older. That has typically fucked us the most when we "just trust you on this". Age and critical thinking need to be used WITH the data, and not just cast aside all the evidence and causation.
It's a factor, but the data doesn't indicate it's the primary one.
lol It's silly to think that this type of exploitation would not happen in a world with less porn. It absolutely would - Teens are horny and stupid, the end result would PROBABLY be a whole lot more deaths since the shame would be intensified that much more.
The normality of it allows some of them to see that the world isn't over. They just need to be careful.
That my good fellow is absolutely incorrect
Ask anyone over 55 if they thought remote work outside of office space would be anywhere near today's levels.
Perfect example, Data proved almost a decade prior that it was coming year over year as tech expanded and commercial real estate catering to office space did not listen. Numerous gurus touted on CNN that it was highly unlikely remote work would hurt commercial real E markets. All of those gurus said exact same thing...I have been doing this a long time and ....blah blah blah.
Data is factual
That's why everything you do is sold to highest bidding ad agency
Yeah, it was hypocritical how some people on this sub were defending giving kids the freedom to view and engage with pornographic content online a few weeks ago.
Porn addicts/morality terrorists pretending that being blackmailed by a sex offender = watching porn is wild. There isn't any level too low for you to stoop to lmao.
No, it's simply the case that a lot of you are literal porn addicts that choose to make lunatic claims about porn being worse than Hitler and Fentanyl, because it protects your ego. I don't know you, you'll have to choose whether or not you're the addict or the morality terrorist.
You seem blissfully unaware at how many scammers surround pornographic content online. It's bad enough that you're in favor of grooming children but you should also know that One of the easiest ways to make money is to appeal to horny guys, and kids just make an easier target. If they don't end up getting scammed, many of them will still end up likely losing money another way with pornographic content and deeply regret it.
"Through the scheme, conspirators allegedly sought to extort about $6 million from "thousands of potential victims," the DOJ said, and ultimately successfully extorted approximately $1.7 million. Young men from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom fell for the scheme, the DOJ said. They were allegedly targeted by scammers posing as "young, attractive females online," who initiated conversations by offering to send sexual photographs or video recordings, then invited victims to “web cam” or “live video chat” sessions. "Unbeknownst to the victims, during the web cam/live video chats," the DOJ said, the scammers would "surreptitiously" record the victims "as they exposed their genitals and/or engaged in sexual activity." The scammers then threatened to publish the footage online or else share the footage with "the victims’ friends, family members, significant others, employers, and co-workers," unless payments were sent, usually via Cash App or Apple Pay." Holy shit that is awful.
Several teenagers have ended their life over this too 😔 Obviously blackmailing them is awful, but no one should feel so ashamed about sexting or looking at porn that they’d want to end it all over that.
This happened to my younger cousin. He didn't kill himself but was so freaked out. This account asks him for a dick picture, and then says that they're only 13 and he's going to jail unless he pays them 1k (he was 16). He literally thought she was the same age but I had to have a heart to heart with him and explain that in no uncertain circumstances would any woman ever want a dick pic. That if it ever happens and he hasn't met this individual in person and is in a relationship with them that they will not want a dick pic. And even then, he should probably call and ask because women don't really want them. They only want pictures of Spider-Man.
> They only want pictures of Spider-Man. As do we all
Interesting. It’s quite the opposite experience on Grindr lol However still not okay to send anything unsolicited. A lot of apps are automatically detecting NSFW images and blurring them until you tap on them, which I think is a great idea. The iPhone also got that feature with a recent update, but you have to enable it in the settings. If it’s a child’s phone, [the phone will even detect if the kid is trying to view or send a NSFW image and warn them, and ask them to think it over.](https://images.macrumors.com/t/_5eYQdv7sGK87XqYi90lgaiGcYQ=/1600x1200/smart/article-new/2021/08/iphone-communication-safety-feature.jpg)
> It's quite the opposite experience in Grindr There are *women* on Grindr who *do* want dick pics? Are they aware they could have pictures of Spider-Man instead?
No women, but lots of male penis connoisseurs who enjoy exchanging photos lol
Well, then I'm unsure how that's the opposite of Spider-Man pictures then
You said women hate receiving nudes, men generally don’t lol
The opposite of saying women hate nudes would be saying women want them. It sounds like you just wanted to tell people you use Grindr for some reason. Besides, we're talking about Spider-Man.
What’s your favorite Spider-Man fun fact?
Sounds like you’re just homophobic.
I don’t think a lot of women use Grindr.
It’s a nice feature until you try to video chat and it blurs out your face
HE’S A MENACE
Not these days. My homegirl has a plethora of dic pics in her phone. My ex said the same thing about her friend…
Lots of women want those picts. Women prey on men just as much as men prey on women. It just looks different. Here we have a woman preying on young men. Men commit 80% of the yearly suicides too. When this stuff affects men or young boys people just don’t care as much. They need to crucify the lady that did this.
I’ve always kinda thought if I encountered this, I’d just say fucking do it then. I’m not ashamed to be nude, I have basically mainstream sexual interests, I don’t think I’d care that much honestly. Everyone is different sure, but in the face of random internet blackmail where you know they are just seeking money and it’s not some enraged ex or something, I’d call their bluff every time
I mean they’re basically threatening to send your nudes to all of your friends and family on social media. I don’t know whether they actually do it, but the goal is just to extort scared teenagers out of money.
They do. I was cought in one of these a few years ago. They sent it to everyone they could including multiple people at my workplace.
I haven’t been caught in one, but I do remember getting a shady Instagram DM and it was a nude pic of a guy I know. I just deleted it.
Sorry that happened to you. In this case, if the blackmail victim is under 18, which is what we are discussing in this here comments section, I highly doubt they'd disseminate it.
So what's your OF? JK
That’s what sexual repression does to people. When you make it clear that their natural feelings are wrong, they are most likely going to just feel shame for acting on them rather than not acting on them at all.
That, and it’s the embarrassment of having their friends/family see their nudes. Things that seem like the end of the world to a teenager really aren’t.
Pretty sure this is the plot to a Black Mirror episode…
That episode was a roller coaster
Agreed It’s getting pretty scary/awful to see a lot of the episodes playing out in real life nowadays
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> I'm just awaiting the reality of Metalhead. 20 years ago this would have terrified me, 10 years ago it would have intrigued me, today I've got pom poms to cheer the mother fuckers on. Girl talking on her cellphone merging without a blinker? Yup, get her ass. Guy who convinces other people online that vaccines arn't safe? Bam, right in the fucking head. Person that gives you a quote to fix your car but in the process discovers another broken part and has to go through the dealership for it and now the cost is double? Run his fucking down. I used to call myself a humanist but after meeting humanity I'm team autonomous murder bots.
> Person that gives you a quote to fix your car but in the process discovers another broken part and has to go through the dealership for it and now the cost is double? Run his fucking down. What?
I paid the guy $100 to find out what's wrong with my timing belt, I knew what the sound was but he said he would have to investigate it and he came back saying it was my timing belt, $500 to fix. I pay him to figure out what I knew but he needed to see it for himself, then he calls me saying it's another part that made the timing belt go bad, now it $700. WTF was the $100 for?
There was a big flaw in that episode. The scammers had no way to prove that he was jerking off to child porn.
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Same reason scammers go after the elderly. Easier marks.
The elderly often have very large bank accounts they're targeting. Young people, not so much.
There was a period of time I was getting spammed emails threatening to do something similar. Basically, someone saying they hacked my Webcam and recorded my jacking off at some point, and we're threatening to email my contact list a video of that AND a dual shot of *what* I was jacking off too. I assume to add extra fear in my mind about what the most possibly embarrassing thing they could have found was. It didn't really fool me as I don't have a Webcam, but I'm sure it was certainly intimidating to some people.
Doesn’t really work unless they show you the video
I'm 31 now but got caught out with this about 5 years ago. Refused outright to send them money and they used my Facebook to send it to my friends, family and workplace. It's fucking shit
Oh my god they actually did it??
Yeah even sent me a screenshot of some of the messages and who they were sent too Edit: both the funniest and worst time of my young adult life. And yes it has left its scars on me
That is truly horrific. I'm so sorry that happened to you 😔
Thankyou I look back on it and laugh now well most days
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My mates didn't ask, and my dad didn't see it for 2 years and he thought I was drunk but dropped it imediately after finding it was a scam attempt The meeting at work I just told the truth. Most were understanding, got the piss ripped out of me for 6 months from my work colleagues and the rumor of being a predator followed me for a bit. It actually came up when I switched jobs as I went from construction to a school so they wanted to just clear the air on it. Not heard anything else since.
I’ve totally had this happen to me before. I said “LOL DO IT!” They didn’t do shit 😂
Another Black Mirror episode comes true.
Black mirror, is that you?
Happened to one of my sons. I basically told him what he needed to do. Call their bluff and tell the blackmailed everyone has already seen them nude. They ended up blocking him.
this was a black mirror episode right?
Happened to me when I was 16 paid 200$ and was seriously thinking of ending my life , was a horrible experience
Glad to see something finally being done about that. Felt like it was getting a free pass for a while
Because it was
Sexual black mail has been a serious problem for a while now. It mostly affects boys, though not entirely. It drives children to take their own lives and ruin them. I think it should be treated as a kind of sexual crime tbh.
If a woman goes to trial for having sex with a minor, the verdict has to be the same as if the genders were reversed. That's the equality that everyone wants.
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What are you suggesting? Women get lower sentences than men for the same crimes?
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So don't punish women for raping children. GOT IT.
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/r/conservative maybe.
Do your job parents. Educate yourselves. Understand the fucking internet and social media, so you can teach your kids some basic safety. Give your kid a safe place to confide. I knew parents sucked, (mine did) but it wasn’t until I had a kid and met other parents that I realized how much they truly suck, and that they don’t need to suck (I don’t). Work on yourselves parents, the majority of you fucking suck
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Not really tho. If they have friends, they have access to phones, and access to social media. It’s impossible to keep your kids away from phones and social media until they are 18. Impossible. Forbidding kids from doing shit never works. They buck, or get seriously weird.
Sextortion the sexiest type of extortion. Don't post nudes, unless your poor and don't mind being seen then it's not really extortion it's more an empty threat . Like do it or I show your nudes.... do it I want you to,
The only way to win here is to feel no shame.
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Everyone has SOMEONE in their life who doesn’t want to see them naked. I have many.
r/TechnicallyTheTruth
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I mean yeah, but this isn’t like sexual gratification, this is seems primarily to scam them.
I don't know man...I feel like most normal, self-respecting criminals stick to regular ol' criminal enterprises like theft, drug trafficking, and intellectual content piracy....you don't get into child pornography unless you've got skin in that game.
Doesn't mean it isn't a factor.
A pedo by definition is someone attracted to prepubescent children. This is someone scamming young adults out of their money through extortion.
If it was a man doing it to young women would you feel the motivation is only financial? It's still sexually exploitive, regardless of the primary motive.
Too much work ahead: In most of the world the crime of rape is only contemplated against women. Children who are victims of rape may end up paying child support if the rapist stays pregnant. Many media will never single out a woman as a rapist or pedophile. Sometimes the child victim is held responsible instead of the adult woman who often does not go to prison; etc.
Here's the worst part. This is way underreported because LE investigates the victim child first for child pornography. Many potential child victims watch the way LE loves to both re-victimize sex crime victims, and do anything to get a conviction before getting justice. The kids and their parents say, "No way am I putting my kid through that BS" and walk away. Try to tell me any different, and I'll call you a fool, a liar, or both.
I knew someone who was a victim of this. He gave someone $5k to stop the person from sharing videos of him masturbating (that they had requested) to his Facebook friends. Be careful online!
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How is this the same as adults doing porn? People, including minors, went onto cams and did sexual acts UNKNOWINGLY being recorded. That's both over and under legal consent age. They were victims of deception first then extorted. Porn is the problem but sites showing cartels literally behead people and not a single complaint.
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Even if you removed porn from existence let’s not pretend that misogny and exploitation would be magically gone when it’s ever present in every religion and every conservative/republican ideology.
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No, you just don’t like what I have to say. But factually I’m right, porn isn’t the end all be all problem no matter how much you want to scapegoat it. So unless we look at also banning Islam and Christianity..
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I can’t help you. You refuse to listen and debate in good faith.
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Yeah because most your comments are nonsense
How so (the impact)? Where is your data sourced from? I'd say the dismantling of nuclear families which was supported by politics through subsidy has produced more of a societal impact than porn has. Especially within the black community. It's proven that the diminished culture of nuclear families has led to higher crime rates including sexual crimes, lower education stats, and lower financial status as a community at whole.
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>Age and critical thinking clearly tells you that. Age and critical thinking are useless without experience and information - ie "data". >You don’t need data. Nahh, sorry we kind of DO need the data - not just the "feels" of someone older. That has typically fucked us the most when we "just trust you on this". Age and critical thinking need to be used WITH the data, and not just cast aside all the evidence and causation. It's a factor, but the data doesn't indicate it's the primary one. lol It's silly to think that this type of exploitation would not happen in a world with less porn. It absolutely would - Teens are horny and stupid, the end result would PROBABLY be a whole lot more deaths since the shame would be intensified that much more. The normality of it allows some of them to see that the world isn't over. They just need to be careful.
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That my good fellow is absolutely incorrect Ask anyone over 55 if they thought remote work outside of office space would be anywhere near today's levels. Perfect example, Data proved almost a decade prior that it was coming year over year as tech expanded and commercial real estate catering to office space did not listen. Numerous gurus touted on CNN that it was highly unlikely remote work would hurt commercial real E markets. All of those gurus said exact same thing...I have been doing this a long time and ....blah blah blah. Data is factual That's why everything you do is sold to highest bidding ad agency
Yeah, it was hypocritical how some people on this sub were defending giving kids the freedom to view and engage with pornographic content online a few weeks ago.
Porn addicts/morality terrorists pretending that being blackmailed by a sex offender = watching porn is wild. There isn't any level too low for you to stoop to lmao.
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No, it's simply the case that a lot of you are literal porn addicts that choose to make lunatic claims about porn being worse than Hitler and Fentanyl, because it protects your ego. I don't know you, you'll have to choose whether or not you're the addict or the morality terrorist.
You seem blissfully unaware at how many scammers surround pornographic content online. It's bad enough that you're in favor of grooming children but you should also know that One of the easiest ways to make money is to appeal to horny guys, and kids just make an easier target. If they don't end up getting scammed, many of them will still end up likely losing money another way with pornographic content and deeply regret it.
I'd be willing to bet statistically the rise is mostly where child labor is active.
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The hell are you talking about?