DIGITAL BLACKMAIL: UNVEILING THE FREQUENCY OF SEXTORTION IN GHANA

By the silent guardian

And behold it came to reality that some cybercriminals have become so bold and treacherous that they end up luring targeted victims into sexual acts, secretly recording or asking them to record themselves in compromised acts and share it with them, only to publish it later online or host it in the cloud and use it as ransom to generate a lifetime of wealth.


sextortion in Ghana
sextortion in Ghana


I have been targeted by a few of these criminals on countless occasions, as part of my surveillance, I play along to gather enough data and then simply drop them off. I had situations where we had to collaborate effort to solve some problems caused by these criminals to some victims. 
Sometimes, I use cyber security ops to neutralize some of their online activities. Enough said, Here are some of their operations and how you can be victimized.


1. THE "AGONA SWEDRU SYNDICATE" IN GHANA

Somewhere in mid-year 2023, exactly a year back, they began their operation using Facebook as their main medium of target. This is how they operate: 

Step A: They have special ladies they recruit to bait men. Usually, they prefer people of status, like Musicians, Lectures, Public Speakers, etc. They (usually she) will contact you and send you an attractive picture then continue to lure you into believing she wants a relationship. Once you accept, she will spend a few days winning your trust.
Step B:  After a period, she will then request online sex, or for a recording of yourself in a sexual act or a video call that will engage both of you in such an act. The interesting part is that she will either record you secretly or ask that you send a clip of the video to her (whatever she sends you in return will be fake). 
Once you do that, then follow the master stroke!
Step C: Soon, someone else (a male) will either contact you by WhatsApp or via a phone call that he found your compromising video on his girlfriend's phone and will go ahead to demand an amount of money, in which failure to pay will result in him posting the video.
Their usual tactics include intimidation and frustration with threats. They will keep bothering you and go through your friend list on Facebook, they will attempt to contact some of your friends and share the video with them. They will continue to intimidate you, and keep calling you with different numbers hoping you will send the requested amount.

Below is one of the threat messages we received when we were profiling them:

"(Victim's Name)
VIRAL SEXUAL VIDEO LEAKS TAPES

AM MR LORD EMMANUEL AMOAH WORKING UNDER THE INVISIBLE FORCES OF THE NPP GOVERNMENT, IN THE GREATER ACCRA REGION IN THE XXX LEAK DEPARTMENT.

MR ***** IN THE *****OF GHANA BUT CURRENTLY LIVING IN **** GHANA WORKING AS A ******.(This info will be from the victim's FB page)


We have been notified you play a role of having an advisable act with some girls online,

We have a platform Synchronized to post leak videos viral on these social media platforms

1: FACEBOOK
2: YOUTUBE
3:TWITTER
4:INSTAGRAM
5:WHATSAPP
6:DAILY GRAPHIC
7:G.E.S PLATFORM Etc.

YOU ARE ADVICE TO COMPLY ON OUR DEALS OR YOU WILL SEE YOUR LEAK VIDEOS AND PICTURES VIRAL ON ALL MENTIONED PLATFORM.

MESSAGE FOR NECESSARY INFO

I’M SURE BLOGGING YOUR VIDEO WILL BE A GOOD ACT.
1. *FB contact*
2. * FB contact*
3. * FB contact*
4. * FB contact*
I PERSONALLY HAVE CONTACT OF ALL THE MENTION PEOPLE AND WILL PERSONALLY SEND YOUR VIDEO TO THEM.

IF YOU DONT WANT THIS DISGRACE DO THE PAYMENT IS 2000GHC AND LET ME LEAVE YOU.

OR YOU CALL FOR SETTLEMENT.

GET READY NOW AM GOING TO PUBLISH YOUR NAKED VIDEO

YOU WANT TO BE STUBBORN RIGHT

WE WILL SHARE YOUR VIDEO FOR YOU BECAUSE YOU WANT IT OUT

I will publish now for you

https://ghanaxvideolink.****** (link purposefully deactivated)

I WILL PUBLISH THE LEAK SOON ON FACEBOOK

EVERYWHERE

AM READY TO FORGIVE YOU BEFORE

SEE HOW YOU INSULT ME

NO RESPECT

SO GET READY NOW"

From the message above, we gathered information about the gang for profiling. 

Here are a few of the pictures they often use as bait:

Disclaimer: We cannot ascertain if these are the real culprits, accomplices, or compromised individuals



sextortion suspect 1

sextortion suspect

sextortion suspect 2

sextortion suspect 3

Anyway; we have been able to neutralize their activities, yet they are still keeping some compromised videos of individuals in the cloud.


2. THE "VENGEFUL PARNTERS" 

Since 2020, there has been a rise in partners, especially men attempting to "sex-tort" their exes. It's no new news. This is where vexed exes decide to seek justice by threatening or uploading their partner's sexual content online. This I see to be an act of immaturity to the core! There are hundreds if not thousands of such cases in Ghana. With the the passing of the law that criminalizes the activity, the occurrence has reduced drastically with a few showing up here and there. So far nobody knows the exact extent to which it has gone, because chances are a lot have gone unreported. There are a lot of situations where these criminals end up uploading these videos to pornographic websites which can become difficult to remove. I have come across several videos like that on such websites, at times the victims are recognized individuals in our societies.

3. THE "UNPRO PHONE REPAIRERS" 

One other source and cause of sextortion is Mobile Phone Technicians. There have been cases where some of these uncouth individuals while working on mobile phones come across sensitive information that they later use to target victims unscrupulously. There are steps to take, to secure your phone's data when sending it for repairs, (Details in another blog). This is a good example of such a case from Spintex Road in 2022.

4. THE "BITTER SOULS"

These are situations where your phone may fall into the hands of the wrong person ("bitter soul"). It could be stolen or a friend of a friend has temporal access to it and quickly copies sensitive data for nefarious reasons. There are steps to prevent this from happening. I was nearly victimized once just by mistakenly giving out my phone for a random friend to view some funny joke on WhatsApp, she went straight into other chats to suit herself! 

5. ERROR BY YOURSELF

We have witnessed situations where we mistakenly send information to the wrong recipient. This is "human error", and can happen to anyone, yet "hyenas and foxes" in the cyber domain will try to make something out of it. As cyber pros, we are guided by ethics, I for one, see a lot of sensitive data but never share or even copy from clients' computers and phones without their permission. Here is one clear case of human error  the "hyenas and foxes" instead of saving their pastor's wife took matters into their own hands

EFFECTS OF SEXTORTION ON VICTIMS

I. SHAME AND LOSS OF DIGNITY:
The first and most adverse effect of sextortion on a victim is the feeling of shame, disgrace, and loss of dignity. Many people lost their respect, positions, dignity, etc. over such videos. The negative consequences of people watching your nakedness in a compromised position can be great.

II. FINANCIAL LOSS:
Victims who will lose control over themselves (which is very normal),  are likely to succumb to the demands of the criminals and transfer the requested amount to them. This is very usual yet wrong since the criminals will definitely, post the compromised media even after payment. Therefore any money paid is considered a loss.

III. SUICIDE
Some victims contemplate suicide and often take their own lives. This often happens when they don't share their plight with anyone. The weight of guilt becomes heavy hence the result.  
This is the most disturbing effect of all.

IV. PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT
This is another serious effect that can be diverse. It can range from low self-esteem to avoidance of the opposite sex in the long run. With anyone who feels the weight is too much to bear after being involved in this incident, psychological help is always the best choice.

V. FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES 
Concerning all the above, should your compromised video get uploaded to some servers online, there are certain job opportunities and positions that you may have to count yourself OUT to prevent future unwanted situations.

HERE ARE SOME REAL INSTANCES: 






HOW TO DEAL WITH SEXTORTION 

a. If you are already compromised, email us for assistance: icepharmer@gmail.com
b. Never send any money they demand, it's now unlawful in Ghana to upload  nude pictures online, especially to blackmail 
c. Never record any intimate session with a stranger (your now partner may end up being your future enemy)
e. Do not entertain random "hi" and friend requests on social media



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