A 12-year-old Yarmouth girl was the victim of a sextortion scam, according to the Mounties.
“On July 21, Yarmouth RCMP responded to a complaint from the mother of a young female indicating her daughter had sent intimate images of herself to someone she met online, and now they were being shared with others,” said an RCMP news release.
“The victim had been chatting on a social media platform with someone she did not know. They requested she send intimate images and videos, which she did. She blocked him from her account after that.”
The girl was then contacted by someone else on her contact list who threatened to share the images and videos if she didn’t unblock them, said the release.
“She unblocked the suspect, who then demanded more videos, threatening to share the ones she had already sent with her contacts if she didn’t comply. She sent more.”
The girl was then contacted online by another person who said they had received her intimate images. “They threatened to distribute her images unless she sent more. She blocked this user, and then told a parent what had happened.”
Mounties are trying to identify the two people who were communicating with the young girl.
“Police would like to remind the public to check their security settings on their social media, and be very cautious when communicating with strangers online. Users should be very careful when sending photos via the internet, as once the image is online, it can never be fully deleted.”
