Being Blackmailed on Instagram? Here's What to Do

Infopackets Reader Steve T. writes:

" Dear Dennis,

Please help! I am being blackmailed on Instagram and I'm not sure what to do.

A few weeks ago I signed up for Plenty of Fish (PoF) dating and matched up with a woman that I believed to be legit. We exchanged photos on Instagram and texted back and forth for about a week. Not long after, we exchanged raunchy photos. Fast forward to just a few days ago and she claims to have crashed her car and doesn't have enough to cover the costs. She's asked me to help. I declined. She said if I don't pay, she would share intimate pictures of me with all of my Instagram followers.

I have done some research and I'm not sure what to do. There is a company that says they can ID the scammer but they want $7,200 for 3 days service, or $20,000 for same day service. The same company has a D rating and over 80 complaints on the Better Business Bureau (BBB.org). At any rate, the photos I sent her were dark and grainy and you can barely tell it's me. She's demanding $2,000 or she will expose me to my Instagram followers. Normally I wouldn't care but at the same time, I belong to multiple Instagram photography groups and it would be pretty embarrassing if it got leaked. What are my options? "

Related:

• How long does sextortion last?
• Do blackmailers follow through (and what to expect)?
• Sextortion - what to do, and what not to do

My response:

If you're not sure of the impact of having your nudes leaked, you have two options:

1. Block the Instagram blackmailer and see if they follow through, or

2. Be proactive. This requires plenty of research or assistance.

Let's discuss!

Ignore and Block the Instagram Blackmailer

Instagram blackmail scammers work hard to reel in victims and don't usually give up easily - especially if you block them. In all honesty, if blocking them was the answer, then you probably wouldn't be reading this right now.

Let me explain -

During the first few days (or hours), scammers will attempt to casually extract personal information from you such as your phone number, your Instagram account, your Facebook, or they will want to communicate using another platform, such as WhatsApp, Snapchat or Facebook Messenger.

There are reasons why they ask for specifics, and it's because they can use these platforms as a way to get more information about you. For example, if they wanted to communicate with you through WhatsApp (or even Snapchat), they might ask for your phone number in order to add you as a contact on either platform, because that's how WhatsApp and Snapchat work.

If you shared your phone number, the scammers can do a reverse lookup and extract your name from that. They can also use paid websites like BeenVerified to find additional info about you, including names of your family members. Once they have this information, they can go to Facebook and generate a list of your contacts, then use the list against you when it comes time to threaten your exposure.

Why Blocking an Instagram Blackmailer Usually Doesn't Work

Once they have all of this information, blocking them on Instagram (or Facebook) won't stop the blackmailer from carrying out their threats because they don't need access to your Instagram or Facebook account to make contact with people you know. All they need is a list of your contacts. Once they have this, they can use one of their fake accounts to contact people you know. But it's often much more sinister than that, speaking from experience (ask me how I know).

Lastly, even if you blocked the scammer on Instagram (or Facebook), it won't prevent them from contacting you again by phone or through SMS texting. In fact, quite often scammers will call your phone number just to see if you reject the call on the second ring, rather than letting it go to voicemail. If you do, they will try even harder to get a hold of you because they know you're rejecting the call. I know this based on victim testimonials from over 1,000+ cases I've worked on.

Instagram Blackmailers are Typically Overseas

Speaking from experience, most scammers are overseas even if they have a phone number that states otherwise.

The reason for this is because scammers use apps on their phone that give them a second, third, or fourth phone number. It's not uncommon for a scammer to call or text you from 20 different phone numbers in 20 minutes, all the while making threats to imminently expose you.

This can be overwhelming to say the least.

Most Instagram Blackmailers Return After Being Blocked

Think about this -

Most victims I've talked to respond to Instagram blackmail by blocking the scammer because they aren't sure how to proceed. They also think that blocking the blackmailer will also prevent them from reaching out to their contacts. Unfortunately, this is rarely ever the case.

It is not uncommon for a scammer to make threats, the victim blocks the scammer, everything goes quiet for about two weeks time, only to have the scammer return with threats 10 fold, including a list of contacts and ways to get in touch. That's because - as I've mentioned many times in my previous articles - scammers work in groups, it's organized crime, and they don't give up easily.

Depending on which gang of criminals you're dealing with, some scammers will follow through with threats just to prove that the threats are real. They do this because sometimes they want to seek revenge, but most of the time they do it because they want you to come back to the bargaining table in order to extract money from you. In fact, it's not uncommon for scammers to reach out to a few people and provide you with the proof just to say "I'm not going anywhere!"

But ... The Photo / Video is Dark and Grainy and You Can Barely Tell it's Me

I've heard this many times from victims: even if the picture or video of you in the buff is barely legible, it won't make any difference from the scammer's perspective.

Quite often, scammers will use pictures and videos from previous victims, claim it's you, then reach out to Instagram followers (or family and friends via Facebook), and sometimes both. I know this because that's what victims have told me.

Also worth mentioning is that AI tools have been improved upon significantly over the last few years. It's not difficult for them to doctor a photo or video whereby they take someone else's body and plant your face on it.

Instagram Blackmail: Risk Assessment

So, what is your risk assessment for exposure?

Take into consideration what the scammers know about you (including your contacts), how you communicated with them (and if it left them any opportunities to collect more information about you), and whether or not being exposed would cause significant harm depending on your circumstances.

Many victims I talk to aren't aware of how the scammers can collect information and use it against them. In this case you might be interested in speaking to me privately over the phone, as I offer a complimentary 15 minute call to those in need - contact me here if interested.

That said:

1. If you don't care about being exposed or if your risk is extremely low, then block the scammers and let them do whatever they want.

2. If you do care about what happens next, then you will want to be proactive to prevent your exposure or limit it as best you can.

How to Prevent Instagram Blackmail Exposure: Be Proactive

Being proactive against Instagram blackmail / Instagram sextortion means having an intimate understanding about how this scam works, including which methods the scammers use to expose victims, the games they play, and tricks scammers use to force you to pay (and how to avoid it).

That's where I can help.

I have worked on well over 1,000+ sextortion cases since 2019. During the pandemic I had no less than 6-10 people contacting me per day; I worked over 80 hours a week for almost 1.5 years feverishly collecting and analyzing information from Instagram blackmail victims, then came up with an all-inclusive plan to combat this plague based on the many different scenarios scammers put their victims in.

What I found is the following:

• If you pay the scammers anything at all, they will never stop asking for more.
   
• There are ways to buy time and calm the scammers down without paying ransom or risk exposure.
   
• There are ways to make the scammers get tired of you and leave you alone.
   
• There are ways to prevent your exposure through social media completely, or with the utmost minimal risk.
   
• There are ways to explain the situation gracefully and in your favor to your wife or boss, if you had to.

That said,

• Scammers are extremely aggressive and very creative when it comes to exposing their victims.
   
• Being proactive is the best medicine. If you know what methods they use, you can stop it completely and/or limit the damage done.

Let's Talk About It

If you found this article informative and you are interested in learning more, I am happy to help. Simply contact me, briefly describing the issue and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Remember: we are the only BBB A+ accredited business in this industry by the Better Business Bureau (BBB.org) and have been online for 23 years with zero complaints.

About the author: Dennis Faas is the CEO and owner of Infopackets.com. Since 2001, Dennis has dedicated his entire professional career helping others with technology-related issues with his unique style of writing in the form of questions-and-answers; click here to read all 2,000+ of Dennis' articles online this site. In 2014, Dennis shifted his focus to cyber crime mitigation, including technical support fraud and in 2019, sextortion. Dennis has received many accolades during his tenure: click here to view Dennis' credentials online DennisFaas.com; click here to see Dennis' Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science (1999); click here to read an article written about Dennis by Alan Gardyne of Associate Programs (2003). And finally, click here to view a recommendation for Dennis' services from the University of Florida (dated 2006).