Sextortion on the rise, say police

Advice issued to those affected

Police are warning Island residents about sextortion, which they say is becoming more prevalent.

They say someone has been targeted twice this past week by the same people.

Officers believe others may have been as well, but could be reluctant to come forward out of embarrassment.

Sextortion is defined as blackmail in which sexual information or images are used to extort sexual favours and/or money from the victim.

The police say this sort of online blackmail is often done by organised criminal networks operating out of places similar to call centres.

Criminals often target hundreds of individuals around the world simultaneously, in an attempt to increase their chances of finding a victim.

The local resident recently targeted was told they'd been recorded via their own webcam looking at online pornography.

The blackmailer threatened to send the footage to the person's friends and family unless they were sent a payment in bitcoin.

The advice from police is: cease all contact with the person immediately and report the matter to the police and online service provider; if the blackmail is happening through a social network, alert the administrator as well; and don't pay the money which is being demanded.