Sextortion

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sextortion ( ˌsɛksˈtɔː (ɾ) ʃɛn , suitcase word from 'sex' and English extortion 'blackmail' ) describes a form of blackmail in which the perpetrator threatens the victim with the publication of nude photos or videos of the victim in order to, for example, the victim To force a payment of money or to perform sexual acts, whereby the perpetrator has previously obtained the content in question with or without the knowledge of the victim, for example through sexting or cybersex with the (bona fide) victim.

In the case of underage victims, Europol uses the term “sexual assault and blackmail of children on the Internet”.

criminology

On the one hand, perpetrators and victims of sextortion are often children or adolescents who know each other personally; the act is then used to exercise social power.

On the other hand, sextortion is part of international organized crime . It is widespread that a (often male) perpetrator under a false (often female) identity initially appears to have a "love affair" with a previously unknown person via social media and asks them to send him attractive photos of themselves. Another common form of offense are mass emails in which the sender merely pretends to have made a compromising video of the victim by hijacking his computer in order to extort payment.

In another form, the perpetrators are prostitutes who blackmail their clients. Sometimes the perpetrators of underage victims are pedophiles .

The central element of the sextortion is the (often male) victim's sense of shame because of the recordings used, which therefore do not report the perpetrator to the police and do not reveal themselves to trusted persons. The resulting psychological stress is high. Underage victims sometimes do not understand that there is a criminal offense.

In 2016, 864 cases of sextortion were reported in the UK. The number of unreported cases is estimated to be high.

Legal classification

Germany

In German law, sextortion is initially a form of blackmail when the perpetrator wants money from the victim. If sexual acts are sought, it can be sexual coercion . The threatened publication of private content can be punishable under other regulations.

Switzerland

In Swiss criminal law , sextortion can constitute criminal offenses of extortion and, depending on the commission, defamation , violation of secret or private areas by recording devices (Art. 179 quater StGB) and criminal pornography .

United States

In the United States, sextortion is prosecuted under a variety of federal and state laws, including criminal laws on child pornography , hacking , extortion, and stalking .

See also

  • Revenge porn , a relationship act in which the perpetrator actually publishes the compromising material and does not use it for blackmail.

literature

  • Benjamin Wittes, Cody Poplin, Quinta Jurecic, Clara Spera: Sextortion: Cybersecurity, teenagers, and remote sexual assault . Ed .: Center for Technology Information at Brookings. May 11, 2016 (English, brookings.edu ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Prevention tips - know the Internet. In: bundeskriminalamt.at. Retrieved February 5, 2020 .
  2. ↑ a b c d Online sexual coercion and extortion of children. In: Europol. Retrieved April 4, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b n-tv.de: Blackmail by smartphone: More children secretly suffer from sex tortion. June 11, 2019, accessed March 9, 2020 .
  4. ↑ a b sextortion (webcam blackmail). National Crime Agency, accessed April 4, 2020 .
  5. ↑ a b c d e Benjamin Wittes, Cody Poplin, Quinta Jurecic, Clara Spera: Sextortion: Cybersecurity, teenagers, and remote sexual assault. In: Brookings. May 11, 2016, accessed April 5, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Michael Terhaag: Danger from sextortion on the Internet. Retrieved March 9, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Sextortion: Hessian State Criminal Police Office warns of current scams on the Internet. In: Police Hessen. May 15, 2018, accessed March 9, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Popular crimes of sexual extortion - now what? In: The detective blog. February 7, 2017, accessed on March 9, 2020 (German).
  9. ↑ a b c Webcam blackmail cases have doubled, police say . In: BBC News . November 30, 2016 ( bbc.com [accessed April 4, 2020]).
  10. ↑ Sextortion. In: Crime Prevention CH. Accessed March 9, 2020 (German).