Jordan Cornell
Lantern Staff
Sextortion is defined by the FBI as, “when an adult, through threat or manipulation, coerces a minor into producing a sexually explicit image and sending it over the Internet.”
Extortion by email seems to be growing significantly, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Compliant Center.
Last year in 2018, these complaints rose 242 percent to 51,146 reported crimes, according to the FBI. Sextortion is a certain type of email scam where cybercriminals attempt to extort money from individuals by claiming to have a recording of them engaged in intimate acts or exposed photos.
“The majority of extortion complaints received in 2018 were part of a sextortion campaign in which victims received an email threatening to send a pornographic video of them or other compromising information to family, friends, coworkers or social network contacts if a ransom was not paid,” according to the FBI.
The emails convey a sense of urgency by demanding the victims pay the extortion amount with 24 or 48 hours.
“My advice would be to never share compromising or naked pictures of yourself through messages, social media, online or really anywhere because you never really know whose hands those images are going to end up with,” Campus Officer Timothy Kamholz said. “You should also not conduct any type of business online with someone who you are not 100 percent certain of their identity.”
Kamholz also stresses the importance of knowing who you are communicating with online.
“Realize that people you speak to online may very well not be who they say they are,” Kamholz said, “Most likely they are not even in this country if you are not 100 percent sure you already know them. Also realize that your current significant other may not be your significant other six months from now. You have no idea what they may end up doing with your nude pictures if you should ever break up with them.”
When a Tabor College student was in high school, she experienced a case of sextortion.
“This guy and I were talking, and then he pressured me into hanging out with him alone,” Madison Sheppard, a Tabor college junior, said. “I didn’t want to, but I had sent him a picture of me in a bra, and he threatened to show the whole school the photos. I was 15, young and stupid, but I hung out with him. …I had a plan for my friend to call me and lie about needing help with something, so I had an excuse to leave. He never ended up exposing me.”
The scam emails often include passwords and phone numbers recipients may have used or are currently using to give the impression the attackers have access to a lot of their personal information.
If someone is threatening you with the threat of extorting your private photos, contact the Butler Campus Safety at 316-321-7657.