Ms Roddis said: ‘We see… people who are in happy, committed relationships, people who are going through break-ups, people who are single, people who are exploring their sexuality, people who are gay and haven’t come out yet. Scammers will use any tactic they can to extort money, she said, such as calling victims paedophiles, which is ‘incredibly terrifying’.Ĭallers are advised not to engage with, or pay, the person sextorting them, but to block them. Helpline practitioner Zara Roddis said numbers have ‘exploded’ in recent years, with scammers becoming more aggressive during the pandemic and greater awareness leading to more people coming forward to report the crime.
The total number of reports from victims of intimate image abuse increased by 40% from 3,146 to 4,406 last year (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
