Extortion Scams Explained and what to do about them!

Extortion Scam Explained

What to do anout them and
How to Stop Them!

Here is a simple guide to help yourecognize, understand, avoid and deal with extortion scams. Extortion is the unlawful extraction of money or property through intimidation or undue exercise of authority. It may include threats of physical harm, criminal prosecution, or public exposure.

Typical types of extortion scams

While all extortion scams are a scam, the scammers use different methods to try to trick you into paying them.  Mostly, they are randomly gambling that somme small percentage of their potential victims R in reality engaging in something that could embarrass or incriminate them and therefore the victim will believe that the scammer has information. The vast majority of the time they don't. Of course, it might be a warning supposed to make workouts to you to stop doing whatever bad thing you're doing, but that does not mean that this is a real threat from this particular scammer.

In 2024, there were 54,936 Complaints; $33.5 Million in Losses , a59% Increase in Complaints from 2023 and 9% Increase in Losses from 2023. And AI is enable Malicious Actors to Manipulate Photos and Videos to Create Explicit Content and Sextortion Schemes

Check out the type of extortion scam you think fits your situation below for more information:

• Extortion Death Threat Scam Emails
• Emails saying they hcked your phone, computer or other device
• Extortion based on incriminating photos

 

More questions?

See this list of frequently asked questions, direct from the FTC.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit www.ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

And please let us know about any suspicious calls or emails you receive.  We look for patterns so that we can alert the authorities and victims to new scams, before it is too late!

 

 

---

 

For a comprehensive list of national and international agencies to report scams, see this page.