Blackmail Scams - Sextortion Scams

Report to UK Action Fraud https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

Watermark any photo as "Used By A Scammer".

When this first happened I was terrified but I feel a little better reading these posts. However, still want to make sure this is a scam.

Met a girl on a site called Badoo, she said she was 18. We talked but quickly she asked to text to save on data. We talked and flirted for a while. Then we started to sext a bit, she sent a pic in her bra and I sent one in my boxers. Didn't ask for anything else, then all of a sudden she posts a pic in the same pose as before with no bra. Definitely the same girl - it was the exact same pic and she was even making the same face, it was just like the bra had been removed but everything else stayed the same.

The next day I get a lot of text messages and missed phone calls saying it's the father and her daughter is only 15 years old. I apologized and ended up calling him at his insistence. He told me they have around $2,200 in medical bills and if I can pay he won't go to the police (yet he said he already went to the police and asked what the charges against me would be if he was going to press charges). He kept calling me "son" over the phone and text which I think someone else had posted as well. He had some sort of accent, probably southern, but the phone number was local. I told him I had $500 and he insisted on me paying it with a green dot card from Walgreens. I said I wasn't comfortable and would pay him in cash. At that point he said he was going to the police and I deleted my number (it was a textfree app). Didn't sleep at all last night . Does this sound like a scam? I deleted my Badoo app so not sure I can find the profile but the number was 208-761-5718.

Its a scam.

Read page one first post.

Report to IC3 https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

went through very similar thing to many other people here, except they were okay with the money being sent through regular paypal. still scam?

Yes, in some cases the scammer asked for Paypal payment.

Received a text from a number I didn’t know about 7:30 am on Friday identifying himself as Noah. Said we had talked on Grindr. I didn’t remember who it was. He asked for nudes and I told him no. He then sent 3 (I didn’t ask) explicit photos. About 3 hours later, his “mother” texts me (901-440-2772) and tells me he’s a minor and she’s turning me in. I stupidly respond because that’s our fight and flight response. I was freaked out. Tells me later that the father wants me to agree to pay $2,000 through Walmart to Walmart or Western Union. I tell them my bank is over 2 hours away. They give me until 4 pm to pay. I blocked the number and changed my cell number. About 10:45 am today, I receive a text from a detective Williams (name was misspelled 901-475-8923) asking me if I could talk. He also said he would report me to my work and have them suspend me until this was taken care of. I searched his number and it was a landline phone in a town 45 minutes away. Who can text from a landline???

During the first day, I researched this and found this site along with others stating this was a scam. I followed the advice from this page: blocked numbers, deactivated Facebook, and changed my number. I also reported to FTC and ic3.

What freaks me out is how did they get my new phone number? Any ideas?

Its a scam.

(901) 440-2772
Type: Non-Fixed VoIP
e.g. Skype or Google Voice

(901) 475-8923
Type: Non-Fixed VoIP
e.g. Skype or Google Voice

Byron, I hate to sound dumb. What does voip mean? I’m guessing the scammers spoofed both numbers? How does that work? Is there a way to trace the numbers? Thanks

With VoIp the scammer can be anywhere in the world to make, receive and text as long as he has internet access.

For example google voice, Skype, magic jack and a variety of apps.

These blackmail scammers will also spoof LE numbers.

the scammers in my case spent several months on me, talked to me for hours over multiple phone calls, text messages, and emails, gave me "advice," etc...and it eventually involved multiple people (men and women) spinning increasingly complicated stories. I finally figured it out, but I paid a heavy price.

One other thing...my scammers all said they were based in South Carolina, and their phone numbers check out as being South Carolina-based. Still a scam?

Phone numbers can be spoofed or VoIp.

If you are being blackmailed report it to IC3,

It is a crime to blackmail.

Phone numbers can be spoofed or VoIp.

If you are being blackmailed report it to IC3,

It is a crime to blackmail.

Thanks. I reported it to IC3 and have not heard back from the scammers. Does IC3 contact victims who report, or do they just file the claim and investigate themselves?

I would imagine they take the report and contact you if more information is needed.

I would imagine they take the report and contact you if more information is needed.

Thank you, Bryon. I just emailed you.