The Sextortion Trap: When Seeking Help Leads to Further Exploitation

The digital age has ushered in a wave of online crimes, and sextortion is among the most insidious. It preys on individuals’ vulnerability, turning intimate moments into tools for blackmail and extortion. But the nightmare doesn’t always end with the initial crime. As sextortion rates soar, a secondary market of "recovery services" has emerged, promising to erase images and protect victims, but often delivering only further exploitation and financial ruin.

One college student vividly remembers the day his world turned upside down. At 19, he fell victim to a sextortion scam. A person he believed to be a girl his age, and to whom he had sent nude photos, was a predator demanding money under the threat of exposing the images to his family and friends. In a panic, he searched for help online and stumbled upon Digital Forensics Corporation (DFC), a company claiming expertise in removing such content. Desperate, he paid them $1,500, only to find that they failed to deliver on their promises.

This story is not unique. Legal and sextortion experts are sounding the alarm about the growing prevalence of these secondary scams. The FBI has even issued a warning, cautioning the public against "assistance services" that often do more harm than good. They urge victims to seek help from law enforcement and non-profit organizations that offer free assistance.

The mental health implications of being scammed, then taken advantage of again, can be devastating, particularly for young men, who are disproportionately targeted. Ninety percent of financial sextortion victims are teenage boys, a statistic that underscores the severity of the problem.

Another victim, who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of further exposure, says his experience with the recovery company was even worse than the initial sextortion. "They are far worse," he stated. "I don’t think that anybody could have gotten that amount of money out of me for any object or product if I wasn’t in that state of mind, and they knew that."

The desperation of sextortion victims makes them easy targets. Scammers often lurk on online support forums, preying on individuals seeking solace and solutions. One Georgia man, who was sextorted at 18, turned to the r/sextortion subreddit for advice, only to be inundated with messages from users claiming they could hack into the predator’s accounts and delete the explicit content for a fee.

Jessica Smith, president and founder of ClickSafe Intelligence, a non-profit dedicated to combating child exploitation, says recovery scammers are a constant presence on sextortion-related platforms. They regularly comment on her YouTube videos, attempting to lure vulnerable individuals into their traps.

In some cases, cybersecurity experts believe that recovery scammers may even be part of the same organized criminal groups responsible for the initial sextortion. This creates a truly vicious cycle, where victims are repeatedly exploited by the same individuals.

Social media platforms struggle to keep up with the scammers’ tactics. They can create new accounts in minutes, often using similar profiles and usernames to evade detection.

The r/sextortion subreddit sends an automated message to new users warning them about recovery scammers and emphasizing that their claims of hacking and deleting files are false. Despite banning thousands of users, the moderators acknowledge that it’s a constant battle.

The desperation of victims, coupled with the aggressive tactics of scammers, creates a perfect storm for exploitation. Victims are often willing to do anything to escape their situation, making them susceptible to promises that are too good to be true.

Even legitimate-seeming for-profit companies like DFC can fall short of their promises. While they may claim to be able to get explicit images deleted, experts say that success is unlikely without access to the predator’s device or logins.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) offers a free service called Take It Down, which helps remove images from social media platforms. However, this service does not extend to private text messaging platforms. StopNCII.org offers a similar free service for victims over 18.

Mike Prado at the Department of Homeland Security’s Cyber Crimes Center warns that companies who claim to be able to do more may be overpromising their services and taking advantage of victims’ vulnerability.

A 25-year-old from Texas shared his harrowing experience with DFC. After being sextorted, he contacted their hotline in tears. He had already paid the blackmailer $500, but the demands continued. A DFC representative told him that criminals often photoshop underage girls next to the naked images, and that he could lose his job if the images were released.

The 25-year-old felt pressured to sign up for a $7,840 "Phase I" plan, which was supposed to result in confirmation that the criminal had deleted his information. DFC took over his social media logins and communicated with the scammer, eventually locating them in Nigeria.

When the blackmailer didn’t comply, DFC told the man that he was in the unlucky 10% and needed to purchase a "Phase II" plan for continued internet surveillance. He declined, feeling that DFC hadn’t delivered on their promises. "I could have accepted this a week earlier and just blocked [the blackmailer] and just accepted the outcome for what it was going to be," he said.

Other DFC customers have shared similar experiences, complaining about the high prices and feeling pressured to sign up for additional services. Even satisfied customers admitted they would have preferred a free service if they had known it was an option.

DFC maintains that a majority of their customers are satisfied, but acknowledges that they cannot guarantee outcomes. They emphasize that identifying cybercriminals in third-world countries is not a perfect science.

Psychologically, victims of sextortion scams are especially vulnerable. Their desperation to erase the images makes them easy targets for further exploitation. Young adults and teenagers are particularly susceptible because their brains are still developing, affecting their decision-making abilities.

Victims may develop anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, making them more prone to future online abuse. The man who was sextorted during his freshman year of college says the experience significantly impacted his ability to form healthy romantic relationships.

In April 2023, the FBI issued a warning about "assistance scams," emphasizing that law enforcement and non-profit agencies provide free assistance to victims. They caution against paying exorbitant fees to companies that may be unscrupulous.

Cybersecurity experts emphasize that victims should not have to pay for help. NCMEC’s Take It Down service and StopNCII.org offer free resources for removing images from the internet.

The key message is that victims of sextortion are not alone and should seek help from trusted sources. The B.R.A.V.E acronym provides a useful guide:

• Block the predator.
• Report the account and abuse.
• Ask for help from a trusted adult.
• Validate victims’ experiences.
• Educate others about sextortion.

Immediate mental health help is available through the 988 suicide hotline.

By understanding the risks of recovery scams and seeking help from legitimate resources, victims of sextortion can avoid further exploitation and begin the long journey toward healing.