Police blame foreign gangs for rise in ‘sextortion’ cases
‘SEXTORTION’ is on the rise in Greater Manchester with internet criminals luring victims into carrying out indecent acts online - then threatening to publish the embarrassing material.
Details of dozens of such crimes reported to Greater Manchester Police in the last five years have emerged following a Freedom of Information request.
But detectives believe many more victims are too embarrassed to go to the authorities and pay their blackmailers.
In Greater Manchester, there have been 41 cases in the last few years police believe foreign gangs using ‘honey trap’ tactics are to blame.
Many of the victims are men persuaded by women they have met online to perform often mutual sex acts in front of a webcam. However, victims are soon confronted with a photo or video clip of their performance, unaware it has been recorded, with a demand for money.
The reports to police reveal demands of £8,000 and £5,000 were made in two of the cases, with an accompanying threat to post the clips to friends on Facebook or on YouTube.
In one case from three years ago, a victim was asked to send £7,000 to an Ivory Coast bank account after criminals made a recording of him on Skype after he befriended what he thought were two French women on Facebook.
In another case, a man from the region was approached by a woman on Facebook who persuaded him to switch on a webcam and engage in a sex act.
Moments later the man received a message with a screenshot of him performing the sex act, with a message saying: “Your video is going to be published to friends and family.”
In a similar incident from 2013/14, another case saw a man met with a demand for 10,000 Philippines pesos (£148) to stop images being published.
Figures uncovered by our sister paper the M.E.N.’s Data Unit showed GMP listed 74 per cent of cases as undetected or with no suspect identified, and 13pc could not be progressed due to evidential difficulties, with the victim not supporting further action in six cases. No-one has been charged in connection with any of the 41 reports.
Across England, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has said that at least four young men have taken their own lives after being targeted in this way.
Victims should stop communicating with the criminals, refuse to pay demands and alert police, they urge.