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This Valentine’s Day, the ABC7 I-Team is raising awareness about a troubling scam known as “sextortion” that targets those looking for love online. As digital romance becomes more common, so do the risks associated with it, with scammers capitalizing on vulnerable individuals.
In this particular scam, perpetrators claim to possess compromising photos of their victims and demand money to keep these images private. The I-Team spoke with one such victim, who bravely shared her experience to warn others about the potential dangers lurking in the realm of online dating.
These scammers often manipulate individuals into sending inappropriate photos through various apps or text messages. In some cases, they use advanced AI technology to create fabricated images of their victims without clothing. Once they have these images, they leverage them to extort money, threatening to release them if their demands are not met.
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As we celebrate love this Valentine’s Day, it’s crucial to stay vigilant and protect oneself from such deceitful schemes. Always be cautious about sharing personal images and interactions online, and remember, the threat of sextortion is very real in today’s digital dating landscape.
Scammers can convince people to send inappropriate photos on apps or text, or they can use AI to recreate photos of victims without clothing. Then they demand that victims pay up, or else.
One woman, who the I-Team is calling “Maria,” exclusively shared how she became the victim of a sextortion scam. She asked ABC7 to hide her face.
Maria was messaging a man on a dating app for months, until he started demanding money. When she refused, he threatened to revealing photos and videos of her. His message said he would “distribute all of them” to her followers.
“I happened to be online and saw that he had posted, and he was messaging everybody in the comments I have nude photos if you want to see it, which was horrific,” Maria said.
READ MORE | What is sextortion? Threatening emails, direct messages part of common scam
When she didn’t pay, he posted a picture of her on social media. She says the scammer used AI to make it look like she didn’t have clothing on.
“They actually look for kind, compassionate people who can have attachments… and hope that you’re going to give something up in return,” Maria said.
Authorities say she did the right thing by refusing to pay $3,000 in crypto. She also filed a report with the FBI’s internet crimes division, on IC3.gov.
“Preserve any messages these people are sending you,” Chicago FBI Special Agent Ashley Kizler said. “Obtaining usernames, email names, addresses, don’t respond to the message… and then block that person and don’t respond and report to the FBI.”
The victim says she stopped dating online and turned to an in-person matchmaker, Matchmakers Elite, in Oakbrook Terrace. They said they have been hearing a lot about the AI scams and sextortion scams.
“They’re using actual photos of you and changing it in ways that are unflattering that you don’t want out there,” said Anna Rigali, senior matchmaker at Matchmakers Elite. “They’re making it look like you by using your actual photos and they’re using it to blackmail you.”
Rigali says in-person dating services like the one she runs with her mother will research people’s potential criminal and personal history before clients meet them in person.
“We get enough information that they can actually build a psychological profile on this person, you know, based on different factors, they’re pulling how long they’ve lived at their residences, how long they’ve kept certain jobs,” Rigali said.
“If we start talking about it, it removes the power these people have,” Maria said.
Dating services can cost more money than dating apps. So, anyone dating online should try to meet in-person, in a safe place, shortly after making a connection. If they’re giving excuses not to meet or are trying to move to another app, that’s a warning sign.
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