Last Updated on July 7, 2023

As more and more people use Facebook, the number of sextortion cases is on the rise. What to do if being blackmailed on Facebook – becomes a real question.

What is Sextortion on Facebook & What Is Their Strategy?

So, what is sextortion? Sextortion is a type of extortion that involves using sexually explicit images or videos to blackmail someone.  Here are some steps you can take.

To better understand sextortion, it is important to know how these cybercriminals approach it. Sextortionists view social media as the perfect hunting ground to find their next victim. The majority of these cyber-criminals work in groups.

The idea is to create hundreds of fake social media accounts across all mainstream platforms.  The perpetrators reach out to their potential victims and try to charm their way into obtaining explicit content. Then use that content against their victims to obtain large amounts of money.

There have been hundreds of reports from people of all ages and backgrounds who faced sextortion. Sextortion is well on the rise and anyone can succumb to their trap.

Below are some examples of what you can expect from a sextortionist:

• Disguise themselves as attractive teens/young adults/adults to catch the attention of potential victims
• Be extremely charming when engaging their prey, they will feed you compliments, making you feel confident
• Ask you detailed questions about yourself and your life so that you feel more comfortable with them and give them more information to use against you

What to do if someone tries to blackmail you online?

What to do if blackmailed on Facebook – Step One: Privacy Settings 

You need to act fast! Once they have obtained your explicit content, if they haven’t done so already, they will do a deep dive into your profile and all of your information. This means that your work, friends, and family are at risk.

It is important to go through all of your privacy settings and change everything to ‘only me’ so that your perpetrator doesn’t obtain access into your friends list, or be able to comment on your profile and leave harassing messages.

What to do if being blackmailed on Facebook – Step Two: DO NOT Block

Dealing with sextortion is a very scary situation. It’s common for victims to want the harassment and threats to end as soon as possible, but the worst thing you can do in this type of situation is ignore it and block the suspect.

These criminals are very unpredictable and can be quite vicious! There have been many instances we have dealt with where a client quickly blocked their suspect and that resulted in their content being exposed to their friends and family.

What to do if being blackmailed on Facebook – Step Three: Stall

We recommend stalling the suspect while you try and seek out help. This is a strategy we tell all of our clients to do and has shown to be successful.

For example, claiming you don’t have any money, but are willing to send some once you get paid in a week, will not only keep the suspect calm for a few days. But it also gives you a chance to seek out help from blackmail specialists to help take over your situation for you.

What to do if you are a victim of blackmail on Facebook

Lastly, and most importantly you need to seek out the help of specialists. Facebook extortion is not something anyone should be handling alone.

They know how to manipulate their victims.

Along with searching for blackmail specialists, you should make a report to your local authorities, and the FBI. It unlikely that they will be able to help you in a timely manner, because of their work load but it’s important that you still document the online blackmail

There are companies that know exactly how cyber-criminals work and know what to do to help. You can report sextortion to them

How do I report extortion on Facebook?

As sextortion on facebook  becomes more prevalent, it is important to be aware of the dangers and take precautions. Keep your Facebook profile locked down tight with the strongest privacy settings available. Seek out authorities and specialists who can help. Remember that you are not alone in this, and there are people who can help you through this difficult time.

Contact our Sextortion Helpline, so we can take on your case. We come with a 90% success rate in obtaining proof of deletion of your content. We are ready to put an end to this nightmare.