"Wow, who's that?" - men in the Steinfurt district probably think to themselves time and again when they receive a message or friend request from an unknown woman on Facebook or Instagram. Curiosity then leads many men to get in touch with the woman. Curiosity increases and they arrange to video chat. For the men, this is usually the nice beginning of a very unpleasant story.
It's about blackmail
Often, the women are lightly clothed during the chat or undress in front of the camera. They then ask the man to do the same. Once the last covers have come off, the video chat is quickly ended and a new message is sent: "If you don't want me to send the video of you to all your friends, then pay me money immediately." The amounts demanded range from three-digit to five-digit euro amounts.
Please don't send any photos either
It is more likely to affect men - but women can also fall victim to this scam with friend requests or messages from good-looking men. The phenomenon is called sextortion and has been occurring more and more frequently in the Steinfurt district recently. A video does not always have to play a role. People often just chat via Messenger and then exchange photos. The end is the same. The men or women are pressured by the scammers to pay money. Sextortion is made up of the English words sex and extortion.
How to protect yourself from this:
- Ignore friend requests from people you don't know.
- Regularly check your settings on your social media accounts.
- It is better not to agree to video chats with strangers.
- Do not expose yourself or engage in sexual acts in a video chat, especially with people you have not known for long.
- Always keep your operating and virus protection programs up to date to protect yourself against malware. There are programs that can easily activate your webcam and film you at any time.
If you have already been a victim of sextortion:
- Do not pay any money. The blackmail often continues after an initial payment.
- Break off contact with the person in question immediately and do not respond to messages.
- Back up the chat and messenger history with screenshots.
- File a complaint with the police.
Further information on this topic can also be found on the website polizei-beratung.de.