In the recent years, the trend of sextortion has become so alarming that everyone should be very careful with what they do and record at the same time, this because you might never know who is watching and what they are likely to do with your content whenever they get a hand on it.
Sextortion is actually a threat to expose sexual image for ransom or just to make someone do something that they might not have done in the first place or just a way to humiliate or have a revenge on someone.
You will realize that majority of the perpetrator are current of ex-partners who might be out there to not only embarrass but also control the victim.
How sextortion happens?
There are so many ways that sextortion can happen, which fall into two categories according to research.
- It is usually between two individuals who took some contents willingly but did not expect the other partner to use them in future either to get reconciliation or just to embarrass the partner.
- Online. It is one of the most common in the recent times, this is when the perpetrator uses the content that they get online to either demand more images or ransom. In this case, most of the communications done online and the respondent might not have any idea who they are dealing with.
How to deal with Sextortion?
As we have already mentioned earlier sextortion is a form of blackmail as victims are either encouraged or forced to take part online over the webcam to be involved in a sexual act. In the process, the perpetrators threaten to use the content unless a ransom is paid.
There are so many measurements that one can take so as not to be caught in this scenario, especially if you are a victim.
Payment
It is advisable that when you are victim try as much as possible not to pay the perpetrators anything. As you are already aware that blackmail of any sort is a crime and paying the offender is wrong.
You will notice that the recent survey has clearly shown that not only is it wrong to pay but also be rest assured that it will not be the first time you will be asked for money.
The next time the criminals will come back with a much bigger demand or just go ahead and post or embarrass the victim regardless of the fact they ransom has already been paid.
If the ransom has already been paid abut not collect, make an effort to cancel the transaction or if it has been collected make a note of the location as it will come in handy on the future.
Communication
Why should you communicate with a criminal in the first place? It is advisable to avoid any kind of communication at all, and if you have been communication take a record of the communication if possible a screenshot would be fantastic.
In the recent year, the social media has taken security measure to make sure that one is not exploited. If you are a victim, the first move is to suspend your account and report the matter to one of the social media platforms so as the will be able to stop the video from being shown.
When you suspend your account or deactivating the it will save the date just in case the authority might need it later.
Evidence
In order to stop this from ever happening to anyone again, it is very important to delete any evidence that might be in your possession and this is the only way that the perpetrators might be caught and stopped once and for all.
I know the evidence might be so embarrassing and one is always tempted to get rid of them but that should not be the case, on the contrary, as much as possible take all the details that was provided by the offender.
Conclusion
When one is a victim, most of the time they feel like they are all alone in this scenario. Be advised that you are not the first one to be caught in this shameful scenario so be sure to get confidential support not only from the authority but also the family members.
No one will be able to judge you when you become a victim as this is usually a very well-organized crime that had to be stopped.
