Police warn of the dangers of texting explicit images

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, January 27, 2023     10:00 am

 (Ottawa) – The Ottawa Police Service is warning everyone about the dangers of texting explicit images on social media platforms and the risk of falling victim to sextortion.

Detective Katrina Moore of the Ottawa Police General Investigations Unit says they receive complaints each week, with victims in all age ranges. Ottawa Police have received approximately 50 reports in the last two months.

“So much of our social activities involve texting, email, pictures and a presence on social media platforms. Predators are always there, looking for victims,” says Det. Moore.

Online predators look for victims by first befriending them and then asking for photos. “If you give them photos or videos, they will demand more images, or money, under threat of releasing the explicit photos to family and friends in your contact list.”

“This scam works because victims think they are talking to someone living in the same city and of the gender they are attracted to,” says Det. Moore. But she warns that the person you are communicating with could be anyone, anywhere in the world and not the person they present themselves as online.

To gain the trust of the victim, the online friend may offer to share intimate images too. In some cases, a predator can take control of the victim’s webcam, so they are unaware their device is recording them. 

These criminals are adept at concealing their online identity and their location is often outside of Canadian jurisdiction making it difficult to conduct a thorough police investigation. The media platforms do not readily share private user information with police investigators without a production order or search warrant and are often based all over the world, making it difficult to identity the suspect or organized criminal group responsible.

Safety tips for users to prevent sextortion:

• Limit the amount of personal information you post, to make it difficult for scammers to learn information about you.
• Set your social media privacy settings to limit who can contact you.
• Don’t accept unknown friend requests.
• Cover your webcam when you aren’t using it so you can’t be recorded without your consent.
• Don’t click on links or download files from unknown sources. Anti-virus software can help filter out potentially dangerous emails.
• Requests for intimate images of yourself should be a red flag and never send them to any social media platform or electronic device.

 Tips for parents:

• Look for resources on how to keep your child safe online. https://protectchildren.ca/en/ offers good tips.
• Monitor your child’s online activities, social media profiles and who they are friends with.
• Talk to them about befriending strangers online and the information they share.
• Make them aware of online threats like sextortion, fake profiles, and fraud.
• Let them know they can come to you with questions or problems, and that you can help if something has happened.

 If you are the victim of sextortion Det. Moore advises, “don’t try to handle this alone,”

and take these steps:

• Stop all communication with the extortionist,
• Save all texts, images, and communications
• If you are a youth, or even if you are legally an adult, tell your parent or guardian, so they can help you,
• Contact police,
• Make a report through Cybertip.ca
• Report the suspect user through the social media platform from which they are contacting you.

“Culprits count on the highly personal nature of the matter to keep you from coming forward. No one is going to judge you. Reach out to police. Chances are that this predator has several victims and you can help stop them.”

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Tel: 613-236-1222, ext. 5366