LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — More people are connecting online, especially around Valentine’s Day, and Lima police are warning about a crime that continues to impact people of all ages.
Sextortion often starts with a message from someone online — but the person on the other end is frequently a scammer, sometimes pretending to be someone they are not. What begins as casual conversation on social media or a messaging app can quickly turn sexual, with explicit photos being exchanged. The scammer then threatens to send those images to the victim’s family, friends or followers unless money or other demands are met. Police say embarrassment and fear of exposure often keep victims from reporting the crime.
In Lima, investigators have seen cases involving both teens and adults.
“With the younger crowd, it's more or less high school kids chatting with other high school kids that they meet on those social media platforms, and then, you know, the next thing, they're sending a picture, and then that person's threatening them in some way that if they don't do certain things that they're going to send those pictures out to five or 10 different people,” said Lt. Matt Douglass of the Lima Police Department. “And then you have the middle age or older people. Sometimes it's just lonely people that are single and they're looking to, you know, conversate with somebody and just have a connection with somebody, and they fall victim to it.”
If someone becomes a target, Douglass said the first step is to report the account through the social media platform and then contact local law enforcement. He added the best protection is to be cautious about who you are talking to online and never share explicit images with someone you do not know and trust.
