If you are being blackmailed, the first thing you should do is stop and think. Take a deep breath and try to calm your mind before embarking on any mission to get yourself out of the situation.
The worst thing you can do is to overreact (which, by the way, is typical under these circumstances) and agree to some or all of the blackmailer’s terms.
Most blackmailers are only after a “quick win” in terms of a monetary reward before moving on to their next victims. Remember that blackmailers usually do not have a grudge against you. They just want to scam you into paying them money. That’s why many of them are aggressive and constantly trying to reach out. They want to stress you as much as possible to force you to make mistakes. Remember that!
We believe that less than 90% of blackmailers actually have damaging content to blackmail with. Often, blackmailers try to fake it until they make it, as explained here. However, there are those instances where a blackmailer does have harmful images, videos, or screenshots that are legit and that would seriously hurt your reputation if leaked. If you believe the blackmailer’s claims are correct, we advise you to schedule a call with us (Hacked.com) as soon as possible and wait before you do anything else. In these situations, the blackmailer might not be after a monetary gain.
What you should do if you are being blackmailed
When it comes to the average blackmail attempt, here are the following rules that you should follow:
- Never, ever, send money to the blackmailer. Even if you are desperate. If you send the blackmailer money, they will – guaranteed – ask for more money after a short period. And this will continue until the blackmailer understands they cannot get more funds from you.
- Stop communicating with the blackmailer even if they are pressuring you.
- Store all communications from the blackmailer by taking screenshots and printing out email correspondence or similar. This can be used as evidence if you involve law enforcement or want to take legal action.
- Consider blocking the blackmailer on the platforms they communicates with you.
- You should make all your online accounts private and invisible to the public to prevent the blackmailer from reaching out to your friends, family members, or coworkers. This can be done under privacy settings on, for example, Facebook or LinkedIn.
- Consider enhancing your online security by enabling two-factor authentication on all your online accounts.
- Seek support from friends and family members.
It is super traumatic to be targeted in a blackmail scheme; you must try to stay calm and get help or mental support as soon as possible to avoid making any mistakes.
If you want to talk to our security experts, please schedule a call with us here. They have dealt with multiple cases like yours, and they can help secure your online accounts and hide them from the public.