What is electronic blackmail, and how do I act when it occurs?

We live today in the era of digital technology that has entered the details of our entire lives, especially social media, which shortened distances, made the world a small village, and made it easier for us to communicate, get acquainted, establish personal relationships and exchange images and information, but everything has its pros and cons, and this technology has negatives and risks represented by what is known as Electronic blackmail.

What is electronic blackmail?

Electronic extortion is one of the most serious problems of the digital revolution today, and it is known that:

A bargaining process that takes place online, based on intimidation, warning and threat from a person called the blackmailer, to another person called the victim, and this blackmail process occurs through hacking the victim’s device, whether his mobile device or his personal computer, and stealing his personal data and private photos, and often social networking sites is the means for this penetration; The blackmailer accesses photos and personal data through:

Hacking personal accounts such as “Facebook” and “Instagram” (hack).

Or through the victim himself, when you send inappropriate images to an untrusted person, who exploits and blackmails them.

Or the blackmailer may access the victim’s personal accounts by sending fraudulent links to his e-mail, or messages on his account on social networking sites asking him to enter his personal data, so that he can then hack his account, and see all his conversations, photos and information.

Or by restoring the contents of the mobile phone, after it was sold by its owner.

Sometimes, there may be an organized gang behind the blackmail, the members of which are trying to inflict victims on young men and girls, and lure them into engaging in scandalous conversations.

This crime does not require many tools, or planning to hunt the victim, all the blackmailer needs is a picture, video or audio clip, to blackmail them and weave the threads of his crime and reach his goal.

Electronic blackmail is a crime punishable by law, and it is a painful crime because of the damage it causes to the victim, her reputation and her family, and leaves negative psychological effects in it, and makes her live in great anxiety and tension, and hate mixing with humans and losing her confidence in others, and it may even lead her to think of committing suicide for fear of any social scandal or family; One study confirms that there is a strong relationship between exposure to electronic blackmail and the tendency to think about suicide. According to United Nations reports, “7 out of 10 adolescents have experienced bullying incidents at some point in their lives, and 1 in 3 victims of cyberbullying victimizes themselves. Themselves, and 1 in 10 of them have already committed suicide.”

The penalty for electronic extortion varies from one country to another according to the text of the law in this country, but in general, the penalty is imprisonment according to the extent of the damage inflicted on the sufferer.

The most common types of electronic blackmail:

There are several types of electronic blackmail, which are:

1-:Physical Electronic Extortion:

Physical electronic blackmail is one of the most famous types of electronic blackmail, and it is done by hacking the victim’s device, stealing his information and photos, and then blackmailing him and threatening to publish them. The blackmailer asks the victim for a sum of money, transfer it to an unknown bank account, or place it in a specific place without meeting him, so as not to leave the possibility of his arrest. In 2015, 40 US companies had their data stolen and threatened to publish it unless they paid millions of dollars.

2-:Benefit extortion:

The purpose of extortion of benefit is to obtain a specific benefit from the victim, such as obtaining a service from him or a specific thing.

1-:Electronic Sexual Extortion:

Girls are the majority of victims of electronic sexual blackmail, especially young girls, because of their lack of awareness and ease of being caught. The party publishes what is in his possession, or sends it to their family.

In this type of blackmail, the blackmailer aims to sexually exploit the victim, so he asks her to send pictures and carry out suspicious requests. Unfortunately, the victim often obeys out of fear of him, and may go too far with harmful requests, bringing the victim to his home by force.

What do you do if you are subjected to electronic blackmail?

If you have fallen victim to cyber blackmail, follow these tips:

• The first step that you must take when you are exposed to electronic blackmail, is to control the nerves and calm down, and not to lose control or fear, or to act in an unthoughtful hysterical manner.

• The most important advice that you should do if you are a victim of electronic blackmail is not to communicate with the blackmailer at all, and not to respond to him, and enter into verbal altercations, or show him your fear, and request and beg him not to publish the pictures, and even if you responded in a violent tone, you may provoke him and carry out his threat Immediately, the consequences of responding to it are dire in all its forms.

• Tell the family or anyone close to consult him, to be of help and support when you are afraid or weak.

• Dealing with the matter calmly and wisely, and not responding to any of his requests, such as paying an amount of money, or giving him your bank card information, so your response to him even for once opens his appetite and makes him ask for more.

• Don’t delete content that is blackmailing you, no matter how worried you are about it, or threatening messages; Because you are removing the evidence of his guilt.

• You should block the blackmailer from your accounts, on social media sites, and change the passwords for your email and accounts.

• It is very necessary to contact the concerned authorities, which are the “Cybercrime Department” units in each country, and report the blackmailer.

• Remember that the blackmailer is inevitably a mentally ill person, suffers from a complex, and wants to prove strength and control the victim, and he is a cowardly person, he only threatens, and it is very rare for his threat to be carried out; Because by doing so, he will not get his material or sexual desire, and he is also afraid of legal accountability.

• In the event that the blackmailer publishes any content, one of the first steps that must be taken is to inform the social media administrations, to block his account, and block what was published; It is worth noting that these sites take a high degree of seriousness and concern when informing them that you have been blackmailed.

• Temporarily delete all your accounts on social media, and leave no way for him to contact you.

• The most important advice that you must abide by is to cancel the idea of acquiescing or surrendering to the blackmailer completely, so do not send him any money or pictures or implement any desire for him.

What are the ways to prevent electronic blackmail?

We don’t want blackmail to happen in the first place; So here are some ways to prevent it:

• Carrying out awareness campaigns by parents, schools and the competent authorities about electronic extortion, especially for the generation of children and adolescents.

• Firmness with the blackmailer’s punishment, and always announcing it, to remind the fate of those who blackmail others.

• Do not accept friend requests from unknown people.

• Do not respond to conversations from unknown people.

• Minimize the sharing of personal information on the Internet as much as possible.

• Avoid video chats, except with people with whom you are closely related.

• Do not communicate with people you do not know, and if you do communicate with one of them, be careful, and do not send any private pictures to him, no matter how he tries to reassure you.

• Not to click on any anonymous link that asks for your personal data; This is because it is a way to hack your phone and access your photos and private chats.

• Do not share any sensitive information, photos or videos, with anyone on the Internet, even if he is a close and trusted person, for fear of hacking and stealing your account.

• Do not trust fake buying and selling sites, online job sites, or anonymous sites, and check them well before sending your details or CV.

• Secure your social media accounts with strong passwords that are difficult to crack, and put them away from your name, date of birth, and consecutive numbers 123.

• It is not enough to erase your photos and data, and log out of your accounts on your mobile phone before selling it; Rather, you must “format” the device, and also turn on the video camera, then leave the device in a dark room, until the phone’s internal memory is completely filled, and the phone turns off the camera automatically, then delete the video, so that this dark video is the only thing anyone finds Someone is trying to recover the contents of the camera, and for more assurance and reassurance, you can use the Drfone site to recover the content of your phone, and make sure that all photos and videos have already been removed.

• Contacting the hotlines established by the Ministries of Interior in all Arab countries, which provided specialized police in cybercrime.

• It is also possible to resort to a legal solution, and to appoint a lawyer specialized in cases of electronic extortion, to file a case against the blackmailer and convict him in the judiciary, and impose the punishment on him.

In conclusion, prevention is better than cure:

Today, the crime of electronic extortion is spreading widely. Therefore, we must be very careful with those we deal with on social media and see our daily lives, and we must warn our children not to fall into the trap of blackmailers. So keep your private and happy times to yourself.