A Durban, KZN man contacted Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) yesterday afternoon (Sunday) when he received a threatening message from an unknown person demanding a “Time Wasters Fee” of R5000 after he chatted with a female on WhatsApp over the weekend.
The victim confirmed that he was contacted by a woman on Facebook who informed him that for R500 she would send him nude pictures of herself. Their conversation moved to Whatsapp where she also stated that for a further R800 she would send him a video of her having sexual intercourse with another man. After transferring the money via eWallet she forwarded the pictures and video to him.
He was thereafter contacted on the social media platform by another female promising to send him pictures and videos if he transferred R1500 for her. After he declined she became irate and informed him that she will teach him a
lesson.
The victim later received a message from an unknown number. The person demanded R5000 for failing to conduct business with the female. The message was accompanied by a picture of an R5 assault rifle on the seat of a car. The extortionist threatened to track down the victim through his cellular provider if the monies were not paid. The man
blocked the number and did not respond to any of the messages.
Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) has in recent months been contacted by both males and females stating that they are being blackmailed on social media platforms by individuals claiming to be in possession of their nude pictures.
In some cases, the blackmailers downloaded pictures from the victim’s Facebook page. They then edited their faces onto a nude picture which is downloaded from the internet. The suspects then threaten to expose their victims if they were not paid. In other cases, victims would send nude pics voluntarily and only later realise that the person they were chatting to was not in the pictures they sent.
In most cases, victims prefer not to register criminal cases due to them being embarrassed.