Randfontein Police are investigating several cases of extortion reported in the past months specifically targeting men.
It’s said the modus operandi of the suspects may vary slightly, but the manner of extortion remains the same.
Captain Appel Ernst, Randfontein Police spokesperson gave the following example, “Unsuspecting men who are on chat groups, whether on Facebook, WhatsApp or any other social media platform are invited to talk to a woman and before long these chats turn sexual. During these chats, nude photos are exchanged and the men are requested to send nude photos of themselves.
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“The minute that nude photos are shared, the trap has been set. The victim is now instructed to pay money into a money market account otherwise the nude photos will be published and/or circulated on social media and/or sent to the victim’s wife and/or posted on the police website.
“Numerous other threats are also made. The perpetrators also access their victims’ Facebook accounts to obtain information such as their addresses. They then harass the victim until he pays the money.”
Ernst added the friendly but stern warning to male residents, “… to refrain from posting nude photos of themselves on social media”.
The police calls on the help of community members to assist them with information by contacting the Crime Stop number on 08600 10111 or SMS Crime Line 32211 to report crime anonymously.
Assist the Gauteng Police to fight fraud, corruption, unethical behaviour or any other suspicious activities that could be detrimental to the police’s success by phoning the Gauteng Standby Provincial Duty numbers: Duty General on 082 313 8299 or Duty Brigadier on 082 444 4354.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at randfonteinherald@caxton.co.za (please remember to include your contact details in the email) or phone us on 011 693 3671.
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