Young woman (l&r) Young woman with email background (c)

Tech worker explains what to do if your iPhone is stolen and they try to extort you via text by threatening to release its contents

'Should I just delete it?'

On Aug 11, 2022 by Mikael Thalen

A police badge.

Hackers threaten to release names of police informants unless ransom met

The ransomware group have given police three days to comply.

On Apr 27, 2021 by Mikael Thalen

young woman on facebook

Man charged for extorting nudes from hundreds of teen girls over Facebook and Kik

Officials believe there could be up to 500 victims, going back as far as 2012.

On Sep 6, 2018 by Alex Dalbey

Rhode Island Sen. Nicholas Kettle is accused of extorting sex from a page when he was 19.

Rhode Island senator said to have extorted teen page for sex in 2011

He allegedly threatened to physically harm the teen if he didn't have sex with him.

On Feb 20, 2018 by Samantha Grasso

A Swedish man has been convicted for 'raping' teenagers online.

Swedish man convicted of ‘online rape’ of young teenagers

The offenses all took place on the internet.

On Dec 1, 2017 by Kris Seavers

photobucket extortion blackmail images terms

Photobucket faces backlash for deleting users’ images and demanding ‘ransom’

Users must pay $400 to have their images appear on third-party websites.

On Jul 5, 2017 by Phillip Tracy

Leigh Abbot sentenced to 5 years in jail for revenge porn

Revenge porn blackmailer sent to jail for targeting a dozen women, extorting $100K

He threatened to burn down homes and send gangs if they didn't comply.

On May 5, 2017 by Ana Valens

A screengrab from the Orange Is The New Black season 5 promo.

Hackers leaked a majority of ‘Orange Is the New Black’ season 5, and they’re not done yet

The group isn't done extorting Netflix and others to keep their content offline.

On Apr 29, 2017 by Samantha Grasso

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New online extortion scheme forces your friends to pay your ransom

Pay up—or have your friends do it.

On Dec 13, 2016 by David Gilmour

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The frightening rise of ‘sextortion’

U.K. police say cases involving this new form of blackmail have doubled.

On Nov 30, 2016 by David Gilmour

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The FBI just warned Americans about a serious new online extortion scam

If you get one of these emails, the FBI doesn't want you to pay up.

On Jun 2, 2016 by Eric Geller

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Senators to investigate rise of ransomware, viruses that take your computer hostage

With one report estimating that a single type of ransomware has cost $325 million, the stakes are high.

On May 10, 2016 by Eric Geller

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Former U.S. State Department employee used work computers to run ‘international sextortion campaign’

Ford gained access to at least 450 email accounts.

On Dec 13, 2015 by Joey Keeton

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Android porn app secretly snapped users’ photos and used them as ransom

The lesson here? Don't watch porn on apps that you don't completely trust.

On Sep 7, 2015 by Selena Larson

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Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert indicted over extortion scheme

Woah, if true.

On May 28, 2015 by Aaron Sankin