It’s a new phenomenon that is rapidly spreading throughout the country. Men are being lured into sexual antics by sultry females whom they meet over the Internet, and no sooner have they zipped up their trousers than they receive the stark message on their screens: “Either you pay, or we will send the images to your friends and family”.
“Sextortion” sees blackmailers pocketing “thousands of euros every day”, reveals Correio da Manhã.
“At the moment, we have between 50 to 60 cases in the Greater Lisbon district”, PJ coordinator Carlos Cabreiro told the paper – explaining that it is very difficult to “catch” blackmailers, as they are invariably using foreign servers and “lots of technology to ensure they remain anonymous”.
The answer is for people “not to expose themselves in this manner”, Cabreiro stressed. “They have to mistrust social media”, instead of willingly stripping and performing orchestrated acts of masturbation in front of their PC for a woman they have never met.
Cabreiro adds that the latest craze for Internet crime has been traced to the Oued Zem area of Morocco where “a number of groups are dedicated to this practice” though, to date, no arrests have been made.
