Police warn of sextortion scam

A man was almost scammed out of thousands of dollars from a woman he thought he was building a relationship with online. While the incident happened near London, Ontario, this type of sextortion is seen everywhere.

When it comes to sharing intimate photos, videos or messages, police keep it simple: don’t do it. Even if everything is good at the time, things change, so you never want to have an intimate exchange on video that someone can post anywhere.

A London man learned that the hard way. He almost paid out $7500 to a woman he just met online after police say she threatened to share intimate videos of him to his friends. Elgin county OPP say the man accepted the woman’s Facebook request one morning and then took part in sexual activity on-camera. The woman then demanded the man wire her cash to prevent the spread of the video.

Luckily, the man was able to call police before he handed off any money. However, many people lose not only the cash, but their reputation.

“They’ll put that video of an intimate interaction with you online with your name on it, then when someone Google’s your name what comes up? this inappropriate post.”

Mills says doxing forces some people to change their name and in some cases the damage is too much to handle. In 2012, 15-year old Amanda Todd of BC killed herself after being tormented for years when an intimate photo was shared by a supposed friend she met online.