Threefold rise in British men falling victim to online ‘sextortion’

LONDON: Britain’s crime officials have recorded a threefold increase in past two years in the number of victims of “sextortion”, in which overseas organised crime groups use fake dating profiles to befriend victims and encourage them to livestream sexual acts.

In 2017, 1,304 cases of sextortion were reported to its Anti-kidnap and Extortion Unit by police forces across the country, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said on Thursday. The figures show men over 60 are also vulnerable to blackmail.

Victims are often contacted through dating websites and believe they are in a genuine relationship. They are then persuaded to perform sex acts online which the crime groups record and threaten to share with the victim’s friends and family unless they are paid.

The NCA said: “The actual figure of those sextorted is likely to be much higher, with many victims failing to report the crime to the authorities. Sextortion has a devastating impact on victims, with at least five suicides being linked to it.

“Evidence suggests that sextortion is predominately committed by overseas criminal gangs, targeting young males aged 17-25 with an increasing number of British Armed Forces personnel being sextorted,” it added.

The agency warned users of dating websites and apps to be wary of who they befriend and avoid being lured into compromising situations online. Victims are being urged to come forward and report the crime.