Online Extortion Scams in 2023: Types, Tips to Prevent, and Report

FraudsWatch.com

&NewLine;<p><strong>Online extortion scams<&sol;strong> are on the rise in 2023&period; These scams involve criminals threatening to release sensitive information about their victims unless they pay a ransom&period; The information that criminals may threaten to release can include anything from personal photos and videos to financial data and passwords&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>There are many different types of <em>online extortion scams<&sol;em>&comma; but some of the most common include&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<ul class&equals;"wp-block-list">&NewLine;<li><strong>Sextortion scams&colon;<&sol;strong> Sextortion scams are a type of online extortion scam in which the victim is threatened with the release of sexually explicit photos or videos of themselves unless they pay a ransom&period; The scammers often pose as attractive people online and convince their victims to send them explicit photos or videos&period; Once the victim has sent the photos or videos&comma; the scammer threatens to release them to the victim&&num;8217&semi;s friends&comma; family&comma; or co-workers unless they pay a ransom&period; Sextortion scams are becoming increasingly common&comma; and they can be very emotionally damaging for the victims&period; In some cases&comma; the scammers have even threatened to release the photos or videos to the victim&&num;8217&semi;s employer&comma; which could lead to the victim losing their job&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;fraudswatch&period;com&sol;tag&sol;tech-support-scams&sol;" data-type&equals;"URL" data-id&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;fraudswatch&period;com&sol;tag&sol;tech-support-scams&sol;">Tech support scams<&sol;a>&colon;<&sol;strong> Tech support scams are a type of online extortion scam in which the victim is tricked into believing that their computer has a problem and that they need to pay for technical support to fix it&period; The scammers often pose as representatives from a legitimate tech support company&comma; and they may even spoof the caller ID to make it look like they are calling from a legitimate number&period; Once the victim has been convinced that their computer has a problem&comma; the scammer will try to get the victim to give them remote access to their computer&period; The scammer will then use the remote access to install malware on the victim&&num;8217&semi;s computer&comma; or they may simply try to steal the victim&&num;8217&semi;s personal information&period; Tech support scams are becoming increasingly common&comma; and they can be very costly for the victims&period; In some cases&comma; the scammers have even demanded thousands of dollars for their services&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;fraudswatch&period;com&sol;tag&sol;phishing&sol;" data-type&equals;"URL" data-id&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;fraudswatch&period;com&sol;tag&sol;phishing&sol;">Phishing scams<&sol;a>&colon;<&sol;strong> Phishing scams are a type of online scam in which the victim is tricked into giving up their personal information&comma; such as their username&comma; password&comma; or credit card number&period; The scammers often send emails or text messages that appear to be from a legitimate company&comma; such as a bank or credit card company&period; The emails or text messages will often contain a link that&comma; when clicked&comma; will take the victim to a fake website that looks like the real website of the company&period; Once the victim enters their personal information on the fake website&comma; the criminals can steal it&period; Phishing scams are one of the most common types of cybercrime&comma; and they can be very costly for the victims&period; In some cases&comma; the scammers have even been able to steal millions of dollars from victims&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;fraudswatch&period;com&sol;category&sol;romance-scammer&sol;" data-type&equals;"URL" data-id&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;fraudswatch&period;com&sol;category&sol;romance-scammer&sol;">Romance scams<&sol;a>&colon;<&sol;strong> A romance scam is a type of online scam in which the victim is tricked into believing that they have found a romantic partner online&period; Romance scammers often use online dating websites and apps to find victims&period; They will create fake profiles that are designed to be appealing to their target audience&period; Once they have found a victim&comma; they will start a conversation and quickly build up a relationship&period; The scammer will often use flattery and attention to make the victim feel special&period; They may also share personal information about themselves&comma; such as their <a class&equals;"wpil&lowbar;keyword&lowbar;link" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;fraudswatch&period;com&sol;category&sol;military-scammer&sol;" title&equals;"military" data-wpil-keyword-link&equals;"linked" data-wpil-monitor-id&equals;"414">military<&sol;a> service or their medical condition&period; Once the victim is emotionally invested in the relationship&comma; the scammer will start asking for money or gifts&period; They may say that they need money for a medical emergency&comma; a plane ticket&comma; or a visa&period; The scammer may also ask the victim to send them gift cards or wire them money&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>There are a number of things that people can do to prevent online extortion scams&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<ul class&equals;"wp-block-list">&NewLine;<li><strong>Be careful about what information you share online&period;<&sol;strong> Don&&num;8217&semi;t share any personal information that you wouldn&&num;8217&semi;t want to be made public&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Be wary of unsolicited emails and text messages&period;<&sol;strong> If you receive an email or text message from someone you don&&num;8217&semi;t know&comma; don&&num;8217&semi;t click on any links in the message&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Use strong passwords and keep them safe&period;<&sol;strong> Don&&num;8217&semi;t use the same password for multiple accounts&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Be aware of the latest scams&period;<&sol;strong> There are many resources available online that can help you stay informed about the latest scams&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>If you think you&&num;8217&semi;ve been the victim of an online extortion scam&comma; there are a few things you can do&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<ul class&equals;"wp-block-list">&NewLine;<li><strong>Don&&num;8217&semi;t pay the ransom&period;<&sol;strong> Paying the ransom will only encourage the criminals to continue their activities&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Report the scam to the authorities&period;<&sol;strong> You can report the scam to your local police department or to the FBI&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Change your passwords&period;<&sol;strong> Change your passwords for all of your online accounts&comma; including your email&comma; bank accounts&comma; and social media accounts&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Online extortion scams can be a serious problem&comma; but there are steps that people can take to protect themselves&period; By being careful about what information they share online&comma; using strong passwords&comma; and being aware of the latest scams&comma; people can help to reduce their risk of becoming victims of online extortion&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p><strong>Additional tips for preventing online extortion scams&colon;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<ul class&equals;"wp-block-list">&NewLine;<li><strong>Be careful about what apps you download&period;<&sol;strong> Only download apps from trusted sources&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Keep your software up to date&period;<&sol;strong> Software updates often include security patches that can help to protect your devices from malware&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Use a firewall and antivirus software&period;<&sol;strong> A firewall can help to block unauthorized access to your devices&comma; and antivirus software can help to detect and remove malware&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Be careful about what links you click on&period;<&sol;strong> If you&&num;8217&semi;re not sure if a link is legitimate&comma; don&&num;8217&semi;t click on it&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Be aware of the latest phishing scams&period;<&sol;strong> Phishing scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated&comma; so it&&num;8217&semi;s important to be aware of the latest techniques that criminals are using&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p><strong>How to report online extortion scams&colon;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<ul class&equals;"wp-block-list">&NewLine;<li><strong>If you think you&&num;8217&semi;ve been the victim of an online extortion scam&comma; you should report it to the authorities&period;<&sol;strong> You can report the scam to your local police department or to the FBI&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>You should also report the scam to the website or company that the criminals were pretending to be from&period;<&sol;strong> This will help them to protect their users from future scams&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>You can also report the scam to the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;complaint&period;ic3&period;gov&sol;" data-type&equals;"URL" data-id&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;complaint&period;ic3&period;gov&sol;">Internet Crime Complaint Center &lpar;IC3&rpar;<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;strong> The IC3 is a government agency that collects information about cybercrime&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>By reporting online extortion scams&comma; you can help to protect yourself and others from becoming victims&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

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FraudsWatch is а site reporting on fraud and scammers on internet, in financial services and personal. Providing a daily news service publishes articles contributed by experts; is widely reported in thе latest compliance requirements, and offers very broad coverage of thе latest online theft cases, pending investigations and threats of fraud.
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