OPP, experts issue warning around rise in 'sextortion' scam incidents

Provincial police and online experts are warning the public about intimate encounters online after a teen was victimized in Middlesex County.

Middlesex OPP said an 18-year-old recently met someone on a social media app and engaged in an intimate conversation. The victim was then threatened that their images would be shared with family and friendsif they didn't send $4,000.

The so-called "sextortion" scam happened not because the teen shared intimate photos, but because they were made to believe intimate images of them were captured from the phone they were using while engaged in conversation.

Police say the teen sent the money out of fear and theinvestigationinto the case is ongoing.

According to one online expert, sextortion cases like this are on the rise in Canada.

"In July,we received reports related to 322 incidents of sextortion in comparison to July of last year where we had 85," said Catherine Taback,a program manager with cybertip.ca.

Taback says the majority of incidents involve younger males.

"They're more commonly known in our space to be more impulsive anddo more of that sexual exploration online," she said."And so that makes them a little bit more vulnerable to these types of crimes."

Police are urging everyone who is engaging in intimate connections onlineto think twice before sharing any personal or sexually explicit imagesand to reach out for help if someone issues threats.

Police are urging anyone who is avictim of a sextortion scam call themat 1-888-310-1122 or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center at1-888-495-8501.