TULSA, Okla. — A Tulsa woman claims she is the victim of sextortion.
What does that mean? Sextortion is when someone threatens to share private activities with the public in exchange for money.
“Jane,” as we will call her, wants privacy on the sensitive subject so 2 News concealed her face and voice for the interview. She got a text message, that came from an email address, along with a file from a website called “Mega” and a threatening message.
“It said you have one hour,” she explained. “If you do not pay us a thousand in bitcoin, these pictures will be posted all over your Facebook. I told them, ‘whatever, you’re bluffing.’”
Jane opened the file. She said it had nine to ten private photos. Moments later, that file started showing up under comments on her Facebook posts.
Immediately, she deleted the comments from the user and blocked the Facebook profile. She did not recognize the user name. She said it was a strange name and an unfamiliar face.
She changed her Facebook settings to private.
Jane does not believe this is an act of a vengeful boyfriend.
“There is no animosity to do such a thing,” she said. “They said they hacked my phone and that they were a group of men going after awful women in Tulsa and that I was a target.”
She said the group of men called themselves “Anonymous.”
2 News spoke with a cybersecurity professor at OU Polytechnic Institute, they did not want to discuss this case specifically, so they addressed hacking and sextortion in general.
Dr. Christopher Freeze said professional hackers go after bigger amounts of money, “often it is someone you know or have some kind of connection with,” he said of Facebook-related sextortion cases.
Freeze said hackers are able to get photos from one’s camera roll when the person clicks on the links they send.
“When you click on the link, you’re downloading malicious software onto your computer or laptop,” Freeze said. “Now, they have access.”
Remember, Jane clicked on that file.
She wants her message shared so other victims won’t feel alone, “No one should have that power over somebody. It is illegal, it is sick and it just makes me mad.”
How can you protect yourself?
- avoiding clicking on links sent
- don't open attachments from people you don't know
- use a complicated password
- multi-factor authentication
- use strict privacy settings on social accounts
Jane filed a police report with the Tulsa Police Department.
2 News is told the Financial Crimes Unit is handling the case.
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