Burnaby RCMP warn the public of sextortion scams using explicit videos

BURNABY, B.C. – Police are warning the public after a rise in incidents in Burnaby, B.C., involving so-called sextortion.

The RCMP say they’ve seen two different scenarios of what it calls sextortion so far.

One is where victims receive unsolicited friend requests on social media and prompts for video chats, and the second involves unsolicited emails from someone claiming to have a sexually explicit video of the victim or information about the use of pornographic websites.

Typically, the victims are threatened with the release of intimate videos or images, and asked to make a payment, usually in the form of a money transfer or Bitcoin.

The RCMP say they’ve investigated 24 incidents of sextortion since May, including cases where money has been transferred to strangers.

Police say all internet users should be careful and not accept friend requests from unknown individuals via social media.

Anyone that has been targeted should stop communicating with the individuals, save any existing correspondence and immediately report the incident to police.