Cases of sextortion reported to the UK’s revenge porn helpline have almost doubled within a year, new figures show. It became the helpline’s most reported issue in 2021, with 1,124 cases reported – up from 593 in 2020.
One victim, who called the helpline his ‘saviour’, started chatting with a Facebook account that appeared to belong to a woman with whom he shared several mutual friends.
‘I was so stressed and panicked that I ended up giving them £200 so that they would delete the video, but that didn’t stop them from asking for more money, and from then I realised they would not stop asking me for money so I took screenshots for the police and blocked them on my account, my mum’s account, then deactivated my Facebook.’
Most people were alerted to the image being shared by someone they know such as a friend or family member. Ms Roddis said the current law has left ‘thousands of people unsupported and unvalidated’ because they need to show the material was shared with an intent to cause distress, which she said is ‘heartbreaking’.
A National Police Chiefs’ Council spokesman said groups carrying out sextortion have become ‘increasingly sophisticated in their operations over the past decade’.
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