Sextortion Scam: What To Do If You're Being Blackmailed (2026)

[AlanJones]

^^^ It's a scam, so follow the instructions on the first page. If you cut them off then they have no way of getting money from you, so they will move on to the next victim.

Also, law enforcement did not call you, it is the scammers using different numbers.

[Star45]

Yeah I thought it smelled a little fishy! Because the "officer" told me that Lisa slapped her mom and was sent to jail and that Mr. Patterson paid his half and my half so 1,ooo dollars on his card and I need to pay Mr Patterson 500 dollars or else they will come pick me up in 30 to 60 days! That's what scared me! It's good to know it's a scam and I don't need to worry I have been dealing with this for almost 2 weeks now! And also Patterson wanted me to pay him with the Money pak prepaid card thing

[Terminator5]

Common sense should tell you that state and local police , FBI and any other Law Enforcement cannot , will not , and do not ask for payment via :
Western Union
Money Gram
Walmart Money Transfer
Prepaid Cards

These are basically untraceable money pickups .

[anon401]

I had a very similar incident as the other POF ones. The phone number of the scammer is (803) 250-8160, located in South Carolina, and the number correlates to a Verizon account. He/she/it tried to get $350 out of me as a deactivation fee to cut off "his daughter's" phone.

[Bryon Williams]

803-250-8160

This punk/thief is not phone friendly.

[Terminator5]

Sprint mobile phone . Perhaps he didn't pay his phone bill . He's waiting on that Western Union transfer.

[Bryon Williams]

Mod Note: Please do not play with these scammers.. We are trained and you are not.


He put me on block.

Sounds as if he using a voice changer on the first call.

[anonymousmexi]

Hi i need help urgently as im being threatened by someone that there going to send my nude to my family an friends all over fb i had a gut feeling it was a scam when i started talking to ( it) but i just didnt have any cares to what would happen because of the mood i was is am now its bit me in the ass because im being constantly harrased for money and if i dont pay it he or whoever it is will ruin my life i really dont know what to do to stop this wether of i ignore the person nothing will happen i had no choice but to give 50 dollers to stall them while i was deactivating my fb acount n removing everything n everyone off of it n changed all the logins n stuff as the scammer asked for my email an started the threats after that but i dont know what to do nor what i can do an if the picture will be sent out n spread all over fb

[Tim Atem]

I am sorry this has happened to you, do not send them anymore money.

Follow the advice in this thread:

Merged (BW)

Even if they do post your photos, FB will remove them immediately as they are a violation of the terms of service. Unfortunately, there's not much else that can be done.

Can you post the email where they demanded money including who they asked you to send the money to? Make sure you remove your personal information before posting.

[anonymousmexi]

[email protected]

[email protected]
Ok thank you thats a little relief then but can it stell be sent through pm or will facebook block that to? And there the to emails i was sent to send money through

[Brandonreed987]

Blackmail Scams/Sextortion Scams.

There are various types of these scams. I will explain a few.

Many Social Media Sites such as Skype, Kik, Facebook, Pof and Chatroulette are a home for Scammers and Thieves to use to scam by using threats of fear and/or criminal charges.

This scam involves 'grooming' a potential victim into sending compromising photographs/video to the scammer - In some scams the scammer/thief will, initially, send compromising pictures which he/she will say are of him/her -- these will be stolen from elsewhere

Types of blackmail/sextortion scams:

Threatening to send your images to your Facebook friends and family.

Scammer will meet you on a social media site and ask to exchange compromising images. He may have asked prior or will ask later to be added to your Facebook account.

Now the scam begins. He will tell you to send money via Moneygram, Western Union, Amazon gift card, Prepaid scratch off card or any other untraceable method to him.

He will tell you if you do not comply he will send the photo’s to your Facebook friends list.

Another version of this scam is Under Age girls/boys.

The scammer will meet you again on a social media site. He/she will tell you they are over the age of 18. As you progress communicating with this person/scammer he will ask to exchange indecent photographs/video.

After you exchange photo’s you will be contacted by the scammers fake "Father" or "Mother". They will tell you that you sent pictures to an under age girl/boy. They will want you to send money for therapy or for them not to go to the police. In some cases the scammer has contacted victim pretending to be Law Enforcement.

There are also seen cases where a scammer pretends to an online agent looking for pedophiles. This scam is using the same payment methods mentioned above. The Scammer will tell you that if you pay them they will not report it.

Recommended Actions:

It is best to stop all contact with the scammers. Ignore his calls and messages.

Ignore all demands for money. If you pay the scammer he will continue to blackmail you. You will only stop paying when you go broke or realize you are being scammed.

Deactivate your Facebook account for two weeks. Change your photo or avatar when you reactivate it or get a new one. Also change your user name. Do not accept requests from anyone you have never met.

Do the above for all social media and Skype.

You may have to change your phone numbers.

File a report with your local law enforcement agency and to one of the following below if possible.

USA: IC3 - http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
Canada: Anti Fraud Center - http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifr ... index.shtm
UK: Action Fraud - http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

Further reading posted by Dotti: https://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewt ... 13&t=18484

I sent intimate photos/video to my scammer or he says he recorded my activities on webcam, and now he is threatening to publish them. What can I do?
Unfortunately, there is not much you can do. The only advice we can give you is not to give in to blackmail demands, and once again, cut off ALL contact with the scammer. If he cannot reach you, he cannot blackmail you. If he knows that he has power over you, he will continue to abuse that power and demand more and more money. He may promise to destroy the photos/video, but remember he is a liar and a thief, and his promises are worth nothing.

The truth is, in most cases the scammer will not follow through with this threat, because following through will cost him time and money. If he tries to post anything pornographic, most public sites would delete it anyway. In the unlikely event that he does post something, you need to be proactive and contact the site immediately to have it removed. Depending on the threats, you may want to file a report with law enforcement.

Just remember for the future that any photo or video you give to ANYONE is out of your control, and anything you do on webcam can be recorded. This particular issue is not exclusive to scammers - the internet is full of stories of angry people who posted intimate details or photos/video of ex-partners after a relationship ended badly.

If you sent or received nudes knowing or believing that you were communicating with a minor the above does not apply to you.

In this situation, we are not willing/nor will assist you..

Hello I've been having the same problem how do I know for certain that it is a scam.

[Terminator5]

Please post or private message more details . Thx

[Th3Cr0w]

I wanted to share my story as well, because while it’s the same as many others at its core it has some changes that are worth note. I’ll try to keep it small but I want to give a sufficient amount of detail because it is different.

(...)

Update from my post earlier this month. (I didn't quote it all because it was very long, check page 23 for full story)
The day of reckoning came and went without a peep, despite saying they would call me on Thursday, they called Friday. I didn't pick up anyway. Just blocked the number and moved on.

Today they attempted again to call from the number I blocked and when unsuccessful "Detective Higgins" texted me the following message: "This Detective Higgins. Contact me as soon as possible" from (541) 325-7931, which is an OR number despite his claims of residing in SC.

I keep blocking numbers and they keep bringing new ones, only 2 so far. What would you suggest? Shall I continue my silence and keep blocking, or confront them and state that I've spoken to local law enforcement and the FBI and know he is trying to scam me. I'd like to keep my number, so I'd like to avoid that drastic of a measure.


Thoughts? Thank you in advance.

[Bryon Williams]

Do not respond to anything. Fake det. is calling/texting using a VoIP.

(541) 325-7931
5413257931 is a VoIP number provided by Onvoy with an area code in OR

[Terminator5]

You should change your phone number and hopefully you've already made a report on IC3 and a police report .