Following our recent Safer Internet Day 2021 and our advice regarding telephone scam calls and business compromise fraud, the Royal Gibraltar Police is now raising awareness of other types of online threats, particularly, through online social networking sites.

One such online threat commonly found on social networking sites is “Sextortion.” In this cyber-enabled crime, a victim is lured into performing sexual acts in front of a webcam. Unbeknown to the victim, their actions are recorded by criminals who then use the video footage in an attempt to blackmail by way of threatening to reveal intimate images recorded online by sharing with a victim’s contacts unless the criminal’s demands are met. Such demands are typically for money or further intimate images, with blackmailers demanding anything from hundreds to thousands of pounds.

The RGP offers the following advice:

Be wary about who you invite or accept invitations from on social networking sites. Do not accept friendship requests from complete strangers.

• Do not share intimate videos online.d
• Do not get lured into compromising situations such as removing clothes or performing intimate acts online.
• Always remember that what goes online may well stay online.
• Update the privacy settings on your social networking accounts so only people you know can view your account.
• Do not include any sensitive, private or confidential information in your profiles.
• If you use online dating sites, set up a separate email account that does not use your real name. This is very simple and quick to do using providers such as Hotmail, Yahoo!Mail or Gmail.
• Quickly block nuisance and fraudulent users from further contact with you and also report them for abuse.
• If you become a victim of this type of scam, do not respond to the blackmailer's demands, but report the issue to the relevant social networking site and to the police.
• If you have been persuaded by anyone to part with payment details, contact your bank or card issuer immediately.

The Royal Gibraltar Police routinely raises awareness of a variety of online threats to minimise the chances of members of our community, particularly those who may be particularly vulnerable, from becoming victims of such crimes.