A transnational sextortion racket was uncovered and dismantled by Interpol's cybercrime division and the Singapore and Hong Kong police.
See also: Sextortion: Blackmailers drive young men/boys to suicide
Interpol says 12 suspects believed to be key members of this criminal organization were arrested in July and August after investigators found they asked potential victims through online dating platforms to download a malicious mobile app to engage in “naked conversations.”
This app was designed to steal the contents of their phones' contact lists, which cybercriminals would use to blackmail victims, threatening to share their nude videos with relatives and friends.
“We conducted a proactive investigation and in-depth analysis of a zombie command and control server hosting the malicious application, which – together with the joint efforts of our counterparts – allowed us to identify individuals associated with the criminal syndicate,” said Raymond Lam Cheuk Ho, head of the Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force.
See also: Sextortion scams: How to deal with them
Sextortion is a type of digital blackmail where criminals coerce or trick their targets into sharing sexually explicit videos or images that will later be used for blackmail.
To make things even scarier for their targets, they often gain access to social media or contact information, threatening to send the images they took to the victims' relatives and friends.
The scammers behind sextortion campaigns are also known to distribute various types of malware via phishing emails, ranging from data-stealing trojans to ransomware .
See also: Interpol arrests 2000 social engineers and seizes $50 million
How will you protect yourself?
According to the FBI, to protect yourself from blackmail attempts:
- NEVER send nude pictures of yourself to anyone, no matter who they are or who they claim to be.
- Don't open attachments from people you don't know. Links can secretly compromise your electronic devices using malware to access your personal data, photos, and contacts, or control your webcam and microphone without your knowledge.
- Turn off electronic devices and webcams when not in use.
