Blackmail: Miesbacher pays 3000 euros - perpetrators spread intimate videos

Created: 05/06/2022, 12:48 p.m

By: Christian Masengarb

Blackmail: Miesbacher pays 3000 euros - perpetrators spread intimate videos © Friso Gentsch

A man from Miesbach became a victim of online criminals who extorted 3,000 euros from him and distributed intimate videos of him.

A growing problem, police say.

Miesbach – A man from Miesbach became the victim of so-called sex pressers, who first extorted 3,000 euros from him and then sent videos of him with sexual acts to his friends, family and acquaintances on social media.

According to the police, the perpetrators had contacted the man via Instagram.

Via a profile with a picture of a pretty woman, they first started an informal conversation that quickly became lewd.

During a video call, the supposedly interested man encouraged the man to undress and perform sexual acts on himself.

Without the man's knowledge, the perpetrators recorded the video.

A little later, they threatened to send the recording to his social media contacts if he didn't pay them 3,000 euros.

The man paid.

The blackmail didn't end there.

The perpetrators again demanded money;

the man stopped paying.

The blackmailers then sent the video to his contacts.

More and more digital blackmail: "It almost always works like this"

The case is a typical example of a growing problem, says Stefan Sonntag, press spokesman for the Oberbayern Süd police headquarters: "It almost always works like this." A pretty stranger contacts the victim via Instagram, Tinder, Facebook or other social media.

The conversation quickly becomes intimate, and the perpetrators use the recording of a video chat as a form of blackmail.

If the victim pays, the perpetrators usually demand more and more money.

Sunday cannot estimate how often they actually publish the videos.

In any case, the money paid is almost certainly gone.

In the case of the Miesbacher, officials followed the trail to Lithuania before it got lost.

The manhunt often leads to the Ivory Coast.

However, since the perpetrators could be sitting in front of a computer anywhere in the world, it is difficult to catch them.

The scam is a form of cybercrime;

similar to the fake police officers who demand that people hand over valuables for supposed safekeeping.

"There are almost no more bank robberies these days," says Sonntag.

"Crime has migrated to the Internet." All departments in the area of ​​the police headquarters, including those in Bad Wiessee and Holzkirchen, deal with similar cases.

Despite constant warnings from the police, the number of victims is constantly increasing, writes the police headquarters in a press release.

In 2020 there were 20 cases in the entire area of ​​​​responsibility, in 2021 already 30, this year there should be even more.

The number of unreported cases is probably high, says Sonntag.

Many of those affected would not report the crime out of shame.

Police warn: Be careful with contact requests from strangers

The police therefore urged once again not to accept any friend requests from strangers in social media, to check account and privacy settings regularly and only to be cautious about publishing personal data such as address, date of birth and employer.

"Don't rush to agree to a video chat.

If in doubt, tape the chat camera first so that you can only communicate verbally and observe what is happening.

Don't agree to exposure or intimate acts in video chats if you've only known the person for a short time.

Always keep the operating systems and virus protection systems on the end devices you use online, such as smartphones, laptops, tablets or computers, up to date in order to protect yourself from malware.

There is malware

According to officials, anyone who has already been blackmailed should under no circumstances transfer money.

The extortion usually does not stop after the payment.

It is better to file a complaint with the police and contact the operator of the site so that they delete the image material.

Inappropriate content can be reported to the site operator via buttons set up specifically for this purpose.

Victims should also immediately break off contact with the anonymous person and save chat histories and messages with a screenshot.