Tom Powell
GIBRALTAR has been warned against a new online sex and blackmail scam by the police force.
According to the Royal Gibraltar Police, Facebook users have been targeted by a fraudster using a fake account.
Victims receive friend requests from females, who after brief interaction ask them to engage in sexual act in front of their webcam.
The user will then threaten to distribute the images or video on the internet, demanding payments ranging from hundreds to thousands of pounds.
There have been three reported victims of the scam in the last week, all men in the 20s and 30s, according to the Gibraltar Chronicle.
The three in question all went to the police instead of paying the demanded fee, but police fear more may have been targeted.
“The advice in these cases is to never accept a friend request from anyone you do not know, and if you do become the target of any criminal activity, you should report the matter to the Royal Gibraltar Police,” said a police spokesman.
The fraudster – or fraudsters – behind the account has not yet been identified, and could be from anywhere in the world.
If anyone is gormless enough to fall for this, then they deserve what they get. In fact, their mummies should confiscate their computers.
Ironically some of the victims are teenagers whose parents are even less internet-savvy and are unlikely to know what they get up to.
calpense: Victims? Leave it out!