#Extortion meaning how to

Although sextortion is a difficult situation, victims should follow the established procedure to reduce potential damages. Sextortion victims can even be driven to meet the demands of the attacker, who promises to make the problem disappear.īut complying can make matters worse and begin a vicious cycle. The fallout can have serious consequences for the victim and their loved ones.

#Extortion meaning how to

How to deal with sextortionĭealing with a sextorion incident can be traumatic.

Otto was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison and requires lifetime federal supervision post-release. Serving a search warrant, investigators seized a number of Otto’s devices and found communications with six additional minors. Investigators tracked the IP address of Otto’s account to his home. Otto was caught when the mother of one of his victims found their messages on Instagram. With flattery and special attention, Otto groomed his victims until they were comfortable enough to agree to his requests. David Ernest OttoĪrrested in 2019, David Ernest Otto used popular social media platforms to target and coax underage girls into sending him sexually explicit content. With victims ranging in age from 12 to 16, Finkbiner was ultimately sentenced to 40 years in prison, fined $70,000, and will require lifetime federal supervision after his release. He would also send them screenshots of their contacts taken from social media websites. After receiving such videos, Finkbiner would reveal himself and threaten to publish the victims’ videos unless they sent more.įinkbiner sent his victims doctored images showing screenshots of their videos on pornogprahic websites - threatening to “post” more if they didn’t comply. Believing these were live videos from the people in them, the victims were encouraged to send similar content. Using an anonymous video chat website, Finkbiner first tricked victims by showing them pre-recorded explicit videos of other people. Much of the confiscated material was sexual in nature. Here are a two widely reported sextortion cases in recent years: Richard FinkbinerĪrrested in 2012, Richard Finkbiner possessed more than 22,000 video clips from the webcam feeds of young people throughout the US. News stories involving sextortion are disturbing, but they can help educate you and your loved ones on how sextortionists operate and how you can stay protected. As technology allows for more connectivity, the potential for blackmail grows. Examples of sextortionĪlthough a newer form of online abuse, sextortion crimes are increasing. What may begin as blackmail for sexual images can quickly rise to blackmail for sex. Sometimes, after producing the requested content, sextortionists will threaten exposure as a way to demand even more explicit content. Meeting demands doesn’t always end the sextortion. Perpetrators can also apply a more aggressive approach: using force and threats to coerce or blackmail victims into creating sexually explicit images and video. Once comfortable, the victim can be manipulated into sending compromising content used for sexual extortion or even blackmailed for sex. They can pretend to be a romantic interest, use flattery, and offer money and other valuable items. Sextortionists will use various means to gain a victim’s trust. Often, these places are where sextortion occurs. How does sextortion happen?įrom gaming platforms and social media to dating and video chat apps, there are many places where we can exchange personal data with others.

Young people are especially vulnerable to sextortion, because they’re generally less inhibited online, tending to share more and being more trustful of internet strangers. The attacker steals the data - perhaps through spoofing or planting malware - then makes demands on the victim to get it back. Sextortion also occurs when a victim is coerced into sending sexual content to retreive stolen private data. Sextortion can even escalate to blackmail sex. Perpetrators then threaten to publish the content unless the victim sends more. They use fake accounts and other social engineering tricks to gain trust, then ask for compromising images or videos. Sextortionists often seek people who stream or post sexually explicit content of themselves.