Extortion on the Internet is a very old crime and modern technologies have helped to empower it (as with many other things). This is where sextortion is, which is a term designated to an increasingly common crime consisting of the realization of blackmail under the threat of publishing or sending images in which the victim shows in an erotic, pornographic attitude or having sexual relations . In short, without qualifying being blackmail or extortion, they are intimate images that the criminal threatens to send to inopportune hands, put into circulation through mobile terminals or upload to the Internet.
Sextortion is a practice in which the Internet plays a fundamental role. Unfortunately, the Net is now playing against the victim. On the one hand, it facilitates the anonymity of the offender who can also search for victims anywhere in the world. On the other, it magnifies the effects of its threat. Regardless of whether the extortionist may be arrested before or after achieving his goal, the victim faces a tough challenge: assuming that with a click of the mouse the blackmailer could do irreparable damage to his life. And the fact is that images, due to their digital nature, are easy to save, replicate and distribute.
Perhaps the most interesting and common thing about sextortion is that the vast majority of victims are teenagers, and it is not that they are known for having a lot of money, but this part of the population represents the perfect victim for these extortionists. Adolescence is a time when discovering how to find and cultivate new types of relationships, and there is no guide to doing so. Adolescents are also beginning to create their own paths and question authority, but they have yet to develop an adult understanding of the consequences of their actions and that is why young people are mostly the first to fall to this threat.
The best advice to avoid being a victim of sextortion is not to play with our images and more if they are intimate. However, even this can escape our will if, for example, they activate the webcam in our bedroom and record us changing our clothes. That is why we must protect our privacy and intimacy, and that of the people with whom we interact, by taking active and passive security measures on our computer and mobile terminal. In this way we can avoid that against our consent any of the two necessary conditions occurs, either that the image is taken or that the image reaches criminal hands.
Other interesting reads:
What risks do you face if you visit adult sites?
CyberStalkers – Risks and problems these brings to us
