Student almost a victim of blackmail via Instagram

KOTA KINABALU: A teenage student from Kuala Penyu almost became a victim of a blackmailer whom she got to know via Instagram.

Beaufort police chief DSP Azmir B. Abd Razak said the suspected blackmailer had threatened to make public seminude photographs of the girl unless she paid him RM500.

She, however, did not give in to the demand but instead lodged a police report against the suspect.

“The suspect is a Malaysian who is now in the custody of the police at Kamunting Perak to facilitate investigations into several similar cases in other states. He would entice young girls to send him their semi-nude photographs, then later blackmail them by threatening to make public the photographs unless they pay him.

“The suspect has done this in several states in Peninsular Malaysia and will be brought to Beaufort to facilitate investigations into the case here once the investigations there are completed,” said Azmir.

The girl, in her report, said that in the middle of March this year, she was contacted by the owner of the Instagram account with the name ‘Fordhaneem’ offering her the opportunity to be a model.

The suspect introduced himself as a manager looking for a model and asked the girl to fill in a form via Instagram. He also requested the girl to send nude photographs of herself to be used as a guide for clothing size.

The girl sent some photographs of herself fully clothed and some where she was semi-nude. However, when the suspect requested her to send nude photographs of herself from the waist down, the girl became suspicious and started to ignore him and his efforts to contact her.

Then, at the end of March, the girl was contacted by someone named Harith via WhatsApp from the phone number 0166358867 claiming to have received her semi-nude photographs from Fordhaneem.

He threatened to make public the photographs unless she pays him RM500, but the girl did not accede to the threat because she suspected Harith and Fordhaneem are the same person. She then lodged a police report on the suspect and the blackmail attempt.

Azmir advised parents to always monitor their children’s activities on social media to ensure that they do not fall prey to syndicates or fraudsters.

They should also advise their children about the dangers of people requesting for their nude or semi-nude photographs and also to be courteous when using social media, he said.

“This is against our eastern culture,” said Azmir.