Sextortion

[2] As used to describe an abuse of power, sextortion is a form of corruption[3] in which people entrusted with power – such as government officials, judges, educators, law enforcement personnel, and employers – seek to extort sexual favors in exchange for something within their authority to grant or withhold.

[4][5][6][7][8] Examples of such abuses of power include: government officials who request sexual favors to obtain licenses or permits,[9][10] teachers who trade good grades for sex with students,[11][12] and employers who make providing sexual favors a condition of obtaining a job or getting promoted.

[14][15] Social media and text messages are often the source of the sexual material and the threatened means of sharing it with others.

An example of this type of sextortion is where people are extorted with a nude image of themselves they shared on the Internet through sexting.

[17] A video highlighting the dangers of sextortion has been released by the National Crime Agency[18] in the UK to educate people, especially given the fact that blackmail of a sexual nature may cause humiliation to a sufficient extent to cause the victim to take their own life,[19] in addition to other efforts to educate the public on the risks of sextortion.

[26] Since early 2009, The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication (iroc2.org) began warning the public about the trend of "Sextortion" via live events and websites including www.sextortion.org.

A mockup example of a sextortion text message. After gaining naked photographs or videos of the victim, the scammer then threatens the publication of these pictures or to send them to close friends and family members. A demand of money is then made, though usually the scam is either a bluff (e.g. the scammer never intended to publish them) or the pictures/videos are published regardless even if the money is sent. [ 1 ]