REACTION Unit South Africa has urged residents to be cautious of people who are using social media platforms to blackmail unsuspecting victims in return for money.
This warning comes after a Durban man received a threatening message from an unknown person who demanded a ‘time wasters fee’ of R5000 from him after he chatted to a woman on WhatsApp at the weekend.
Speaking about the incident, RUSA spokesperson, Prem Balram, said the victim confirmed that he was contacted by a woman on Facebook who informed him that for R500 she would send him nude pictures of herself.
“Their conversation moved to WhatsApp where she also stated that for a further R800 she would send him a video of her having sexual intercourse with another man. After transferring the money via eWallet she forwarded the pictures and video to him,” said Balram.
Balram said the man was thereafter contacted on the social media platform by another female promising to send him pictures and videos if he transferred R1500 to her.
“After he declined, she became irate and informed him that she will teach him a lesson.”
“The victim later received a message from an unknown number. The person demanded R5000 for failing to conduct business with the female. The message was accompanied by a picture of a R5 assault rifle on the seat of a car. The extortionist threatened to track down the victim through his cellular provider if the money were not paid. The man blocked the number and did not respond to any of the messages,” said Balram.
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RUSA said it has, in recent months, been contacted by both men and women stating that they are being blackmailed on social media platforms by individuals claiming to be in possession of their nude pictures.
“In some cases, the blackmailers downloaded pictures from the victim’s Facebook page. They then edit their faces onto a nude picture which is downloaded from the internet. The suspects then threaten to expose their victims if they were not paid. In other cases, victims would send nude pics voluntarily and only later realise that the person they were chatting to was not in the pictures they sent. In most cases victims prefer not to register criminal cases due to them being embarrassed,” said Balram.
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