Criminal sextortion on the rise: Victims blackmailed with nudes into committing crimes

A new form of sextortion has arrived in the Netherlands - criminal sextortion. Like with “classic” sextortion, victims are blackmailed with nude images of themselves, but instead of wanting money, the perpetrators force the victims to commit a crime, the PowNed podcast Het Misdaadbureau reported.

So far, the helpline Helpwanted has received seven reports of criminal sextortion this year. But the helpline expects the actual number to be much higher. Victims experience immense shame and panic, which is also common with other forms of sextortion and sex crimes. On top of that, victims of criminal sextortion have also committed a crime themselves.

“So the willingness to report is, of course, much lower,” Rivka Otten of Helpwanted told the podcast. “That is incredibly difficult, and that, of course, is what makes sextortion so incredibly effective.”

Helpwanted was alerted to this new form of sextortion by helplines abroad and started keeping separate track of the number of reports. According to Otten, victims report being forced to work as money mules, retrieve drug shipments from containers, or even place explosives.

The helpline’s advice for people who fall victim to financial or criminal sextortion is to break off contact with the perpetrator. “Ultimately, there is a chance that those photos will be leaked, but that chance is quite small because that person will then lose their leverage,” Otten explained.