The Rise of Extortion and Blackmail to Minors and THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY

The internet heralds limitless knowledge right at our fingertips. It also opens up new paths of exploitation. With the digitalization of our lives comes an increase in extortion and blackmail - particularly targeting vulnerable groups such as minors and members of the LGBTQ population.

This is a disturbing trend.

An Epidemic under Our Noses

First and foremost - extortion is on the rise.

But you often do not hear about extortion cases due to silence and stigma. Instead of reporting to authorities, most targets pay up quietly. Especially groups at risk, like children, and LGBTQ members - to safeguard their privacy

But even unreported, the scale is mind-blowing:

·      Between October 2021 and March 2023, there were more than 13,000 reports of online financial sextortion involving at least 12,600 victims, mostly boys aged between 14 and 17 - the FBI said.

·      Societal stigma, and the fear of being "outed" increases the risk LGBTQ teens may be at. Media reports say that the common targets of predators are LGBTQ youth, who might be vulnerable.

·      The FBI has observed a steady increase in cases reported, specifically noting an over 300% rise in online enticement between 2021 and 2023

The more lives dissolve themselves into the internet, predators with anonymity take advantage of this. Things like personal photographs or your browsing habits can give a predatory blackmailing power.

Common Extortion Tactics

Though extortion takes many shapes, a handful of tactics account for the vast majority of cases:

·      Sextortion: Perpetrators hold images or communications hostage demanding a payment or else they will actuate sharing them with family members or friends. Adult sites may get hacked for private photos as well.

·      Cam blackmail: The target may be recorded by the webcam in a compromising situation followed by a blackmail

·      Romance scams: Scammers may cultivate online relationships to acquire photos/information for blackmail.

·      Harassment: Scammers may obtain private data and extort sexual content or money from you.

·      Outing: Extorters discover that the victim is a member of the LGBTQ community and demand money with threats of publicizing this information.

·      Mimicry services: Traps like fake modeling sites capture compromising material for blackmail.

·      Spear phishing: Spam emails contain links that extract information such as email addresses, messages and browsing history which could be used for extortion.

·      Deepfakes: AI fake porn of the victim may be used as blackmail material.

How to Protect Yourself

It can be overwhelming to read about the scale and methods behind this epidemic. However, there are several crucial steps which you can take to protect yourself or a loved one:

Do not provide information that can work against you - Stay away from oversharing on social media and think twice before posting any pics or info.

·      Secured technology – Use secured technology like antivirus, strong passwords, multi-factor authentication. Never save or transmit any messages or pictures that could seem compromising.

·      Stays alert for scams - Watch for phony modeling opportunities, dubious dating profiles, phishing emails with infected links.

·      Discuss with your children - Discuss how to avoid scams, what is sexting and the importance of reporting if someone is a victim.

·      Get help if you are being blackmailed - do not suffer in silence, there are resources to assist you.

·      If you are being blackmailed, we can help. Click here to call the Anti-Extortion Law Firm for your free case review.