Officers have issued a warning after seeing a huge 153 per cent rise in reports of 'sextortion' scams across County Durham.
Durham Constabulary is urging people to be aware of the dangers of sextortion - a form of blackmail in which scammers trick victims into sharing intimate and explicit images of themselves. Scammers then threaten to share these images or recordings online, or with the victim’s family and friends, unless their demands for money are met.
The force is warning people to be wary when talking to people online, following a stark rise in the number of sextortion incidents being reported to Durham Constabulary over recent years. In 2020, 53 incidents were reported to the force, compared with 134 in 2021 – an increase of 153 per cent.
