Sextortion is a form of online dating scam which is on the rise in Australia. It is a highly organized crime and very complex to trace. However, there is a good news - those who have lost money to scammers could be able to get their money back, but how?
Last year, Wilson, an Australian man fell victim to sextortion scam. He thought that the woman he chatted online was really into him and he is willing to give it a try. However, it turns out to be the opposite and he was victimized to an international scamming.
"I pulled over, and then she was like, 'Can I see you?' You know, 'Can you reveal yourself?' And then I did that. And then, while I showed everything, like my...my private part, and then...they told me that they recorded it," said Wilson," Eventually he realized that the scammer was not acting alone. Wilson added that "She was the bait. She just moved aside, and i didn't see the guy's face but he was telling me, 'We recorded you, and, if you don't do what I tell you to do, you're going to get the video sent to your family, and we're going to ruin your life."
Then he has to do what the scammers told him to do, fearing this incident could ruin his life and his reputation if he does not do as they said. Therefore he had send many hundreds dollars to many different addresses in the Philippines through Western Union.
Delia Rickard who is the deputy of chairwoman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said that sextortion is very common now.
"Sextortion is on the rise, and we're seeing it both with young men and older men and with women as well,'' said Rickard.
However, Delia Rickard said that her agency is collaborating with social media companies, financial institutions and money wires services to detect this problem. She added that recently, the United States Department of Justice has taken Western Union to court and won USD 500 million to address such scamming.
Rickard added that those who lost their money to scammers through Western Union from January 2004 to January 2017 could get their money back, but they have to be quick and contact ACCC before the end of May 2018.
Delia Rickard would like to give people an advice that people should not share any intimate photos or videos of themselves to strangers they met online who they barely know, because we do not know the true identity of that person or do not know what that person is going to do with those stuffs.
If you want more information in regards to this issue, you can contact ACCC website here Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.#
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