Police issue warning as 'sextortion' cases continue in Forth Valley area
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A warning was issued by police at the start of the month, but it appears more people have been targeted since then because they have released some more information and advice on the matter as August draws to a close.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Criminals befriend victims online using fake identities, persuade them to perform sexual acts in front of a webcam, often by using attractive women or men to entice the victim to participate.
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Hide Ad“These webcam videos are recorded, then used by threatening to share them with the victims’ friends and family, unless the victim pays money. The best way to protect potential victims is to encourage them to be careful about who they befriend online just as you would offline, especially when considering sharing intimate images.”
If people are caught up in a sextortion sting, they should contact police and their internet service provider immediately.
Police will take the matter seriously, deal with it in confidence and officers will not judge you.
It is also important people do not communicate further with the criminals and take screen shots of all the previous communications.
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Hide AdPeople can also suspend their Facebook account – do not delete it – and use online the reporting processes to report the matter to Skype, YouTube and other platforms to have videos blocked, setting up an alert in case the video should resurface.