PSNI in Derry and Strabane are urging the public to be vigilant following reports of online blackmail known as ‘sextortion’.
It pertains to online blackmail of an intimate or sexual nature typically on social media.
The nature of sextortion usually sees the fraudster create a fake identity to befriend the victim on social media.
The exchange may start with flirting or flattery, but ends with the victim coaxed into sending intimate images or performing sexual acts online, unwittingly in front of a camera.
PSNI warn that behind the fake and attractive guise, there is a criminal.
These people are often part of sophisticated and organised crime groups, mostly based overseas.
They extort their victims by threatening expose the those images or recordings unless demands for money are met.
Chief Inspector McManus says the majority of victims are young men aged 18 and 23, but that this can affect anyone.
Victims are urged to report the crime and not engage in any further communication.
