Why financial sextortion is driving crime statistics in the Windsor area

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Financial sextortion is on the rise across Canada and this trend is creating a public safety crisis, particularly for youth and young adults, including in the Windsor area.

With a 50 percent increase in extortion reports in Windsor and Amherstburg – 83 cases in 2023 compared to 55 reported cases in 2022 – police are offering tips to avoid becoming a victim of this growing crime.

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Staff Sgt. Dave Tennant of the Windsor Police Service's Serious Crime Unit explained to the Star what sextortion or extortion involves, who is most vulnerable and how to avoid becoming a victim.

What is blackmail?

Extortion is the use of force or threats to extort property or money from a person or to compel them to do something against their will.

Extortion in the traditional sense was previously carried out mainly by members of organised crime or motorcycle gangs who forced people to pay money or hand over property under threat of physical violence.

Financial sextortion is a form of blackmail in which someone online threatens to send a sexual image or video of you to other people if you do not pay the blackmailer.

Why are extortion cases increasing?

Tennent said the number of extortion cases is increasing due to the increase in what the RCMP calls “financial sextortion.”

“The internet has made the world a much smaller place, as we know,” Tennent said. “Some of the websites that people visit are being targeted (by cybercriminals).”

Tennent said sextortion victims often become involved in an online conversation – and it may not even be a human, but an AI (artificial intelligence) program or computer bot.

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“(The blackmailer) will befriend that person … and usually these are people who are looking for attention or maybe not getting enough attention, so they go to these websites to try to talk to people or meet people,” he said.

They then persuade the victim to share compromising or sexually intimate photos or videos.

Who is most vulnerable?

Blackmail is a crime in which anyone, including children and seniors, can become a victim of blackmail through their phone, game console or computer.

Tennent said most cases of sextortion involve young men and school-age boys.

“We know these people are being targeted,” he said. “So these are the people we want to educate.”

Scams that target senior citizens by making them believe that a family member will be harmed if they do not transfer money immediately are also common extortion methods.

In addition, new arrivals in Canada sometimes fall victim to scammers who threaten deportation if the new arrival does not comply with the perpetrator's demands.

“(Many newcomers) don't know the system, they don't know the laws,” Tennent said. “Again, they just target all kinds of vulnerable people.

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“If these people contact you, call the police immediately,” he advised. “Don't fall for anything.”

How is sextortion committed?

With sextortion, “once they have become friends with the person, the person on the other end of the line may ask for an intimate picture of that person or any kind of information that might make the person feel compromised,” Tennent said.

He said that in nine out of ten cases, the images were intimate.

“So this person sends an intimate picture of themselves to this unknown person they've never met, probably someone in another country,” Tennent said. “And then the blackmail begins.”

The criminal pretends to now have access to all of the person's contacts (phone numbers, email addresses, etc.) and threatens to send compromising images or information that would be embarrassing for friends, acquaintances or family to view.

Criminals hope that the threat will be enough to persuade the victim to send money or other assets.

According to Tennent, criminals also send phishing emails. They pretend to have compromising videos or photos in their possession and threaten to make them public. This is how they want to scare the victim and get them to pay.

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“They want to make money quickly,” he said. “They can offer it to hundreds of thousands of people, and if a few hundred people give them money, they just move on.”

Increasing number of Windsor cases

Statistics Canada groups all extortion into one category, but Tennent says the main reason for the increase in local cases is financial extortion.

“It’s these cases of financial extortion that are really driving the numbers up,” he said.

How can blackmail be prevented?

Stay safe online by using privacy settings on your social media accounts and not adding or following people you don't know.

Be careful who you talk to online and don't share intimate photos or videos with anyone, even people you know.

“Be smart about what you do,” Tennent said. “Know who you're talking to on the Internet.”

Make sure your security and antivirus software is up to date and be wary of emails requesting urgent money transfers.

What can a victim of this crime do?

Call the police. The police will take a report and try to get email addresses or IP addresses from social media sites.

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Unfortunately, many of these criminals are quite sophisticated and route IP addresses across many countries, Tennent said.

“So these are extremely difficult investigations,” he added.

He also advises not to respond to threats and not to send money or further pictures.

The RCMP recommends deactivating, but not deleting, social media accounts or images and saving copies of any images sent. Take screenshots of messages and the extortionist's profile and username.

For more information, visit the Canadian Government Antifraud Centre website at https://antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/scams-fraudes/extortion-extorsion-eng.htm.

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