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

[Bryon Williams]

I don't know who you were calling.

ETA: I did answer your question.

T5 was responding to a member who stated that they received a call from the police.

[Bryon Williams]

https://www.army.mil/article/181694/arm ... tion_scams

Army CID warns Soldiers to beware of 'sextortion' scams

QUANTICO, Va. -- The Army Criminal Investigation Command is cautioning Soldiers to beware of a form of cyber extortion in which criminals engage in online sexual activities with a victim and then demand money or favors in exchange for not publicizing potentially embarrassing information.

In these "sextortion" scams, the extortionist will convince a Soldier to send a compromising photo or engage in a sexually explicit video chat, then threaten to send the compromising images to the Soldier's command, family and friends unless "hush money" is paid, according to CID's Computer Crime Investigative Unit (CCIU).

CID officials say Soldiers who are caught in the scam may reluctantly give in to the extortionist's financial demands or blackmail in hopes of protecting their careers or avoiding embarrassment.

"Be cautious of your online communications and do not share intimate, personal information with strangers or people you have never met in person," advised Special Agent Daniel Andrews, director of CCIU.

According to Andrews, victims who give in to the extortionists' demands will be at risk of further exploitation. He encourages victims to seek the assistance of law enforcement.

"[Further exploitation] can include demands for additional payments, more sexual images, sensitive military information, or access to Army systems and facilities," Andrews said. "So early notification to law enforcement is important."

If you have been the victim of a sextortion scam, please adhere to the following:

-- Do not send money. CID has received reports of instances where scammers threatened to release videos unless a second or even third payment is made.

-- Do not continue to correspond with an extortionist.

-- Do preserve whatever information you have collected from the extortionist, such as the extortionist's social networking profile, email accounts, and where the extortionist directed you to send the money.

-- Do notify CCIU at [email protected] or 571-305-4478 to report being a victim if you are a service member or an Army civilian employee. If you are not associated with the military, report the crime to your local police department, Department of Homeland Security Investigations at [email protected], or the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.

[Bryon Williams]

For members serving US Navy & Marines personnel, you can report it to the Naval Criminal Investigative Services as follows:

Your local NCIS Office can be found at http://www.ncis.navy.mil

Text "NCIS" + your tip info to
Crimes (274637)

"Tip Submit" Android and iPhone App
Select NCIS as Agency

NCIS Hotline 1-877-579-3648

Naval Criminal Investigative Service
Russell-Knox Building
27130 Telegraph Road
Quantico, VA 22134

If you cannot report to NCIS, notify your security officer, supervisor, or command. Per DoDD 5240.06, they are
required to notify NCIS within 72 hours.

[Terminator5]

Nice find .

[Bryon Williams]

https://publicintelligence.net/usaf-sextortion/

U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations Cybersex Extortion Scams Report

This Special Product was produced in response to reports of Department of Defense (DoD) personnel becoming victims of internet-based extortion scams known as sextortion. Its purpose is to inform United States Air Force (USAF) personnel of this new online scam and offer mitigating steps that can reduce the chances of becoming a victim.

(U) INTRODUCTION

(U) Cyber criminals are continually developing new online scams to take advantage of the unsuspecting public. One of the most recent is cyber sextortion. Cyber sextortion generally refers to an act of using sexual images (obtained either through enticement or malicious code) in order to extort money from unsuspecting victims.

(U) Reporting across Military Services indicates that DoD personnel have been subjected mainly to webcam sextortion scams. DoD personnel were enticed to engage in online sexual activities which were secretly recorded; money was then extorted from the victims in order to prevent the release of compromising video material. Reported instances of sextortion involving DoD personnel suggests that many of the perpetrators originate from the Philippines. It is currently unclear whether perpetrators are specifically targeting US military members or whether DoD and USAF personnel are merely victims of a scam directed at the general public. Nonetheless, USAF personnel should be vigilant about protecting their personal information online and refrain from engaging in sexual activities through the internet that may potentially make them vulnerable to extortion.

(U) MECHANICS OF SEXTORTION SCAMS

(U) Cyber criminals involved in sextortion scams generally pose as attractive females seeking friendly conversation. They approach potential victims in chat rooms, popular dating websites, and social networking sites by initiating written/text communication in an attempt to befriend them. To convince an unsuspecting individual the person they are about to befriend is real, the perpetrator posts fictitious information about themselves (usually age, location, and multiple photos of the same person) to help establish legitimacy.

(U) Once the victim has accepted the perpetrator’s friendship invitation, the “online relationship” commences and perpetrators quickly change the nature of the conversation from friendly to sexual. At this point victims are invited to participate in live video communication and are lured into cybersex activities.

(U) In many cases perpetrators enact sexually explicit poses or engage in masturbation to entice the victim to reciprocate. Perpetrators then inform unsuspecting victims that their online sexual activities have been recorded. The perpetrator subsequently threatens to upload the contents on various websites (YouTube, Facebook, heterosexual and homosexual porn sites, etc.) or distribute it to the victims’ family, friends, or coworkers unless financial payment is made. In some instances victims were forced to purchase a subscription to pornographic websites. Those websites provide financial incentives similar to “referral fees” for perpetrators who coerce victims to sign up for the service.

(U) Monetary demands placed on the victims have averaged around several hundred dollars (US$) per person. In one case, however, law enforcement authorities in Singapore broke up a sextortion ring responsible for extorting upward of US$90,000 from a single victim over a 9-month time period. The authorities suspected the same group deprived another individual of nearly US$100,000 by threating to make victim’s cybersex activities public.

(U) SEXTORTION CASES INVOLVING DOD MEMBERS

(U) Currently it is not known how many DoD personnel have been victimized by this type of online sextortion scam. In November 2012, Facebook’s security team—the world’s largest social networking site—identified a major sextortion ring operating out of Naga City, Philippines. The ring, involving 21 employees of the Philippine-based company MoneyMaker Portal Web Solutions, reportedly targeted hundreds of US Army and Navy members for a period over one year. It is unknown how many DoD members were actually victimized by this ring. Less dramatic examples of cyber criminals targeting DoD members through these types of scams have been observed by all Military Criminal Investigative Organizations.

(U//FOUO) A recent Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) report focusing on this type of online scam identified four cases (two on Guam, one in Japan, and one in Bahrain) involving Navy members between August 2012 and November 2012. In all instances, Department of the Navy personnel were lured into online sexual activity that was secretly recorded, and were subsequently threatened with exposure if payment was not made. The United States Army Criminal Investigation Command (USACIDC) also reported a total of three cases from South Korea, Germany, and Texas, of Army members who were recently victimized. In all cases, victims engaged in consensual cybersex activities that were secretly recorded and subsequently used to extort money from them.6 AFOSI has also received multiple reports indicating that USAF personnel have been subjected to sextortion scams. Multiple incidents of sextortion involving USAF members were reported in Japan, South Korea and Alaska, one in Portugal, and one on Guam.

[Bryon Williams]

All added to page 1 the first post.

[Bryon Williams]

Report this crime to IC3 https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

Heip others as we have done to you.

In one case, however, law enforcement authorities in Singapore broke up a sextortion ring responsible for extorting upward of US$90,000 from a single victim over a 9-month time period. The authorities suspected the same group deprived another individual of nearly US$100,000 by threating to make victim’s cybersex activities public.

[pssdparent2810]

So almost a week to the day somehow someway the lady was able to get my wifes number and texted her and asked if she could talk to my wife. The number she is calling from is tied to the woman she say she is so why would she call all of the sudden. If she thought it was important about her daughter why would she wait this long to call back?

[Bryon Williams]

The internet and social media is a B!tch.

You can find any one who does social media.

Do not reply to the call/text.

Read page one of the first post and apply what is suggested.

Lastly, you are a military member. Seek advice from base legal. If so in doubt

I told yor earlier you were in the early stages. Seek legal advice since we can not help you with your concerns.

If she thought it was important about her daughter why would she wait this long to call back

[Bryon Williams]

Ahh Found it. Days to weeks to play out..

This can take days to weeks to play out.

There has not been the money request. So, currently its not blackmail.

We have seen versions of this scam.

It just has not played out yet.

Did you read page one the first post??

[Gre8726]

Another number for your list.

8475660906

Added to my report as well.

[Vaman_20121]

I think I had the same. From Craig'slist. Sandy answered my ad with a non nude pic. She didn't really follow the instructions in my ad so I was initially suspicious. She asked for a pic. I cited discretion and said no. She said "D*ck pic?" ! I gave her one since it didn't reveal identity. Don't hear for a while so I asked her to text me (giving google voice number) if she was real.

I get this- "My name is John, my wife found your emails, dirty pics, on my 14yo daughters phone, we need to talk soon, or its going to the police(prosecutor) in the morning.btw, im sandys dad."

The number is 513-267-6882. Ohio.

I have since gotten 5 calls which come up unknown that I have not answered. I assume they came through google voice and are this guy.

I haven't found anything previous on this number. I did find one prior search result on "my wife found your emails, dirty pics, on my 14yo daughters phone...."

Same scam right?

Anyone know about that number?

I just got hit with that same exact scam - same phone number, same MO except in my case it was "John's" 14 year old son supposedly. This stemmed from one of my craigslist personals ads in NJ for "men seeking men" or a "casual encounters m4m".

[Cobol2dli]

My husband had set up a craiglist ad looking for friends, he was contacted by a young man who said he was 19. He asked for a pic so my husband sent him one of his private area. He did not hear anything from him for awhile. He received a text to call this number and when he did It was supposed to be the father named John saying that his wife found the emails, text and dirty pictures and the boy was only 14, That they were going to the local police (prosecutor) and would not do so if he paid them $2500.

The phone number has a name of Steven Cr 513-267-6882

I have looked at other postings and see that this is a scam, reporting to the local police and to the ic3

The same thing happened to me. This is the exact phone number I received the threatening messages and calls from. The only thing that kept me from responding is that it sounded odd that the "John" was threatening prosecution that very afternoon. My Craigslist post was in NJ as well. This took place on June 8th.

[Flipgolfer54]

I was on okc and got a number from a girl and started texting her. She told me her age and I had misread it as 19 instead of 17. Her father calls saying either I pay him $5000 dollars for his daughter's suicide counselling or he calls the police. I am really scared right now and do not want to go to jail for this. Please someone tell me this is just a scam. The numbers he contacted me from are +13058790190 +18435843503. Please someone help.

[Bryon Williams]

Welcome to Scamwarners,

Yes, it is a scam.

Read the first page of this thread and the first post. Follow the advice given.

Report this to IC3.

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