In addition to the cases highlighted last week in Sextortion: Virtual sexual assault, wherein predators victimized women and children of both sexes and extorted sexual content, another aspect of online sextortion involves extortion for money.
In this scenario, the predator will friend a subject on social media, strike up a correspondence via direct messaging or email, and exchange explicit sexual photographs. These photos are then used to extort money from the subject under the threat of releasing them publicly. But there is something almost clean in this type of crime—something old-fashioned in extorting money from a victim instead of forcing the victim to produce graphic sexual images on demand.
The Navy has become concerned, according to the Navy Times, as a growing number of sailors are being victimized. Since 2012, there have been 160 reported cases involving sailors, although the actual number of incidents is likely much higher, “given that many victims are embarrassed to report that they've been the victim of such schemes.”
Most of these cases lead to the Philippines, where complaints must be filed in person, making them very difficult to prosecute. In 2014, working with law enforcement in the U.S., Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and Scotland, Interpol was able to smash one large ring in Manila. However, it appears that there are still many who are able to carry on the work from the Philippines.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) has embarked on an education program, creating and shipping pamphlets to its offices worldwide for distribution. The NCIS is also working with other services to create a brochure for all military service personnel who are at greater risk of being victimized due to the young age of military service members, their steady income, and their concern that exposure would damage their military careers.
As hard as it is to prosecute these creeps in a place like the Philippines, prosecuting those who commit more egregious offenses in the States is no walk in the park.