How To Fight Cheating Extortion Scams (for Victims)
Cheating extortion scams are kind of threats that play on individuals' fears of private information exposure.
In this post, we’ll explore where these scams are most common, what’s behind the steep rise and how you can take steps to protect yourself and your loved ones.
The Anti-Extortion Law Firm specializes in getting victims to safe harbor. Click here to call us now.
Where Blackmailers Find Their Targets
Cheating extortion scams usually prey on individuals in situations where privacy and anonymity are scarce. Perpetrators are less likely to be detected by their victims. Here are three prime hunting grounds where these extortionists operate:
Dating Sites
Cheating extortion scams have become a petri dish for dating sites and apps.
They create fake profiles with the specific aim of drawing victims into a false sense of intimacy and trust. After the emotional connection is made, the scammer will threaten to release proof of the relationship if funds - either in cash or in the form of gift cards - are not handed over.
Since millions have turned to online dating - most especially since the COVID-19 pandemic - a new, unprecedented cohort of would-be victims has emerged. On pop sites like Tinder, Bumble and Match.com, phony profiles offer easy cover for scammers.
So-called niche sites specifically for cheating, such as Ashley Madison, also provide anonymity that emboldens extortionists.
Escort Services
Fraudsters may create profiles touting companionship services or pretend to be willing clients. After contact is first established and money exchanged, the scammer will threaten to expose the encounter unless the victim hands over even larger amounts.
Sex workers face stigma, but so do the people who use those services, and that makes them especially vulnerable to extortion.
Seeking discretion, they may go about their lives in shame and be loath to take their attackers to law enforcement. Platforms such as Skip the Games and Adult Search provide anonymous meeting places for them, allowing scammers to operate in the shadows.
In-Person Meetups
Extortion isn’t limited to the digital world, however.
Cheating blackmail can also occur if people hook up online a dating site or similar meet. Without a victim’s knowledge, scammers may record or photograph these encounters, amassing evidence they can use against victims.
Such blackmail can be both especially frightening and dangerous. The fraudster might even tail the mark after the rendezvous - tracking what they do. Then they may threaten physical violence or attack if their demands are not met.
And the sheer numbers of casual meetups online give predators no shortage of potential victims. The apps like Tinder and Grindr that facilitate adjacent lovemaking are, the complaints say, exposing users to extortion schemes.
Why These Scams Have Risen So Dramatically
See how reports say complaints of cyber extortion surged 39% in 2022 alone. In 2023, the F.B.I. recorded over 48,000 extortion-related complaints. What accounts for this sudden ramping up of blackmail scams targeting cheaters and escort clients?
Increased Online Activity
Millions of people went through the pandemic transplanting large parts of their social and dating lives onto the internet. Dating apps including OKCupid logged a 700% increase in dates in 2020. Even the adult Content apps like OnlyFans skyrocketed.
And with this mass migration to online environments, a huge new pool of potential targets was opened up for extortionists and blackmailers. “The people who had never thought there was such a thing as online dating were suddenly in a brave new world and vulnerable to some really sophisticated scamming.”
Anonymity and Discretion
For the married seeking affairs, or for the mortally awkward who couldn’t meet in person, online platforms offered the anonymity of an ever-so garden-variety solution. These were the people ripe for extortionists. They wanted the sort of discretion that plenty of people are ashamed to require - or frightened of becoming public.
The stigma attached to practices like sex work also kept many from making their business strictly private. They were unlikely to report or question blackmailers out of fear of exposure, leaving the scams unchecked.
Technological Advances
Recording devices, malware and tracking software, among other new technologies, have also set the stage for online extortion schemes. Scammers can now much more cheaply and easily record meetings or conversations and use them as leverage in blackmail.
Catfishing has never been simpler; indeed, AI-generated media allows scammers to impersonate whole people. The victims themselves can then be duped into sharing compromising images or information that are used against them.
What to Do If You Are Victim
#1 Seek Legal Counsel
If someone threatens or extorts you, get a lawyer immediately. While blackmail is not unheard of, the Anti-Extortion Law Firm deals with such cases in an extremely sensitive manner.
But meeting demands alone can make things far worse. Communications should go through legal channels, not directly to the extortionist.
#2 Document Everything
Document all communications and transactions related to the extortion. PHOTO: Tada’s National Consumer Center Save screenshots, messages, transaction details and anything else applicable as evidence.
That creates a paper trail that law enforcement can follow to find and pursue the perpetrators. It aids in the development of evidence about the scheme if more legal steps like lawsuits become necessary.
#3 Stay Cautious In The Future
There's more to know for those who fell victim to an extortion scam.
Be more cautious with future online contacts, look for red flags and stay out of conversations that put you in compromising positions. Be more choosy and suspicious on dating sites and online profiles.
