When you find yourself in a precarious situation and some unknown person is exerting pressure on you to pay up or do things you don’t want to do, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and powerless. However, it’s important to know that you have an array of inspiring tools in your arsenal to protect yourself and fortify your position against your blackmailer. From preserving your privacy to pressuring the criminal back, you have the online blackmail help to fight back, if you choose to reach out and take advantage of it. Today, we are going to talk about some strategies for doing just that.
First Steps
Before you arm yourself to the teeth with the authorities and professionals, there are some quick tips you must follow right away to mitigate any further damage from being done.
- Immediately cut off contact with the criminal. Do not pay them as they will likely only continue to ask for more.
- Take a deep breath: whatever you do, make sure it is done with a cool head. The criminal will try to inject urgency into the situation to get you to do something you wouldn’t rationally do.
- Change your passwords and beef up your security credentials: if this was limited to a single platform, change the password there and also on any other platforms where the same password was used. Set up two-factor authentication too, so that way logins will have to be permitted via SMS or by an authenticator app.
- Save any correspondence: this includes all chats, files, websites, and links involved in your interaction. Don’t delete anything, as this will help the professionals understand their tactics and potentially charge them later.
- Cancel or close down your payment and bank accounts if your whole computer has been accessed or a social media platform where you might have left such private information.
- Install an antivirus on your computer, especially if there are abnormal things like pop-ups on your computer now that suggest it has been infected.
What the police can do for you
Involving the police is a crucial step in addressing blackmail. Law enforcement agencies are trained and equipped to investigate precisely these types of crimes, protect victims, and take action against the perpetrators. It’s highly possible that your persecutor is someone you already know. In that case, the pressure exerted against them may be enough to cease their activities.
The police will be able to:
- assess the situation
- evaluate the nature of the threats
- determine what the potential risks to your safety and privacy are
- identify the specific laws violated
- issue you a restraining order, which holds them criminally liable for sharing or distributing your sensitive material or approaching you in person
- advise you on proactive steps to take
- use forensic tools to analyze the blackmailer’s emails, IP addresses, and digital footprints to identify them
- collaborate with platforms and ISPs: they can issue legal requests to them to have the person’s identity revealed
- digital forensics: they can help remove harmful material, secure compromised accounts, and recover stolen data
- coordinate with hosting providers: to take down any leaked information or media
- they can speak to the criminal for you to prevent further harm and also build a case using all the available evidence
- police can work with international law enforcement agencies like Interpol
The Economist published an article on the difficulties of investigating criminals in a decentralized Internet, so be honest and transparent about what happened, even if you’re embarrassed. Provide them all the documentation you have and follow any recommendations they give you.
Lawyering up
Beyond that, lawyers also have a breadth of cards that they can play to exert pressure on the criminal, influencing them to regret what they’re doing and stop. The following are some of these measures.
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Cease and desist orders
This is a formal legal warning issued to the blackmailer to stop their illegal activities immediately. This is a very effective deterrent if the person is identified and it sets the stage for further legal action. This letter includes a warning of potential legal consequences such as charges or lawsuits.
Lawsuits
This is an option for victims who wish to seek financial compensation or accountability for emotional and reputational harm. You can claim:
- damages: if money has been paid to the blackmailer or dealing with the fallout has resulted in extra expenses
- emotional distress: compensation can be demanded for psychological harm like anxiety or depression
- defamation: if false, damaging reports have been circulated about you, this can address that harm
Civil lawsuits can be time-consuming and costly, but they offer a way to hold the blackmailer accountable. Of course, you must first be able to identify the person for this to be an option.
Privacy laws
These are powerful tools for those who have already published information online or sensitive content. In the event that the scammer possibly hasn’t gotten their hands on certain content yet, in certain jurisdictions, there are laws in place requiring websites, platforms, and media websites to delete all traces of information about you upon your request. This includes images, video, and basic information along with anything else you want removed.
Jurisdictions providing this are the European Union in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California under the California Consumer Privacy ACT (CCPA). These also grant people control over the way their information is collected, stored, and shared. Companies have to allow individuals to opt out of data sales as well. Still, the World Bank reports that there is much ground still to gain in the realm of online privacy rights.
If your information appears in search engine results, you can request its removal by filing with the search engine as well. For instance, Google offers a Right to be Forgotten form, as many platforms have their own similar practice. Those that do not comply in certain jurisdictions will face heavy fines. Another tool is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which allows you to file a takedown request.
Platform Help
In the event that the blackmailing you are experiencing is taking place on a specific platform, like Facebook, Gmail, Snapchat, or UpWork, you can take advantage of their reporting tools. Most of these have dedicated channels for reporting harassment, extortion, and abuse. You can usually find these by pressing a Report or Help Center button.
When you contact them, provide screenshots, timestamps, URLs, and links that you were provided to prove to them that you are being harassed. In that case, they can suspend or ban the blackmailer’s account. Some of them will offer guides or support services on handling abuse as well.
Report to Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
As for the technical aspects of the blackmail, your ISP can provide you assistance as well, especially if the blackmailer is targeting your online presence or network. Once you explain the situation, you can request assistance in identifying suspicious activity, encrypting your connection, and setting up firewalls. After you’ve presented your case, they can block down IP addresses their devices are associated with.
Scan your devices for malware
This is a good time to take your device security seriously. If there are odd things going on with your computer, like new ads, slower operating time, and increased data usage or battery drain, getting an antivirus is a must.
Other common practices that cybercriminals use to infect your computer include:
- phishing malware
- trojans
- keyloggers, which capture sensitive information like passwords, PINs, or credit card numbers
- ransomware, but you would already know if this were the case
- spyware
