Hampshire Police campaign to raise awareness of sextortion

Sextortion is a form of cybercrime and blackmail, during which victims are lured into performing sexual acts in front of a webcam or smartphone camera. The criminal typically threaten to upload video recordings to the internet or send them to friends and family if their demands are not met.

Detective chief inspector Paul Gelman is Hampshire Constabulary’s senior lead officer on preventing cybercrime and protecting its victims. He said: “Sextortion is a crime that involves the deception, manipulation and intimidation of someone with distressing and devastating effects. The consequences can be as severe as suicide and self-harm.”

Research by Hampshire Constabulary suggests that sextortion is an under-reported crime. There were more than 100 offences of sextortion recorded by Hampshire Constabulary in 2015. Many of the victims the police know about are young men aged between 17 and 23.

The campaign is focussed on increasing awareness of the warning signs, so that more people are not put in the vulnerable situation where they can be exploited.

Gary, not his real name, in his late teens from Hampshire has been a victim of sextortion. Working late nights on his own meant that he could not see his friends and had no social life. He started using dating websites once a day, wanting to get to know people. One of the people he met online suggested talking on Skype. After a while, the woman he was talking to started to talk more intimately. They talked on Skype, then she asked to see more of him and see his face.

He said: “Then the messages came up- ‘pay £500 or this is going over Facebook. I want £500.’ Then she started listing my friend’s details. I said I could not afford £500. I offered to go to the bank but went to the police instead. I was trembling throughout the whole thing, shaking and thinking 'what's going to happen?' This will ruin my life and did not know what to do.”

“The police officers handled it well. They stopped and helped me through it. They made me feel better. I needed to talk to someone. There is always life afterwards. But I would not be here today if I had not spoken to anyone.”

If you have been affected by sextortion, contact Hampshire Constabulary by phoning 101. Mini-com users can phone 18001 101. In a life-threatening emergency, always use 999.