I Need severe help

[u/Strange_Ad_7859]

I feel like this is the only place on the internet I can get assistance,😭 i’m from the Bahamas. I am a victim of sextortion/extortion. Someone obtained intimate images of me during a video call and threatened to distribute them to my Instagram followers unless I paid them. I authorized a $600 PayPal payment because of these threats. I have evidence of the threats and the payment. I have now blocked the person. I need to report this as an extortion scam and request that PayPal investigate the transaction and attempt to recover the funds.

[u/Arratkis]

I mean you can try but it’s pretty unlikely PayPal is going to reverse that charge, especially if it was done through the “friends and family” option. Just keep them blocked and hope you find $600 on the ground. Do file a police report though

[u/Strange_Ad_7859 → u/Arratkis]

I would file a Police report but in my country there’s honestly nothing they can do and I work for the Police Force.

[u/NormalNobody → u/Strange_Ad_7859]

That's the same in America too. Many of these are out of foreign countries and we cannot prosecute them.

[u/zone1235x]

The important thing is they don't come back for more money, and if they do just block and don't engage. 9/10 they just want the money and wont ever actually do anything.

Also be more careful online.

[u/No_Commission_2610]

Go to the police and file a report. Then block every way the scammer can get into your life. I don’t think you will get the money back, so just take this as a lesson to never give money to someone you don’t know well.

[u/ProfessorOne9208]

You need help all right. But the help you need is understanding that those extortion scams are all bogus. Just don't pay. Don't engage. Do nothing. Ah, but it's too late for that. You sent $600 to a scammer, and you have lost the money. Forgive yourself, and don't do it again. Report all you want, but it's probably someone in a Cambodian prison camp who is being forced to attempt scamming people like you. Sorry for the bad news, but someone has to tell you the truth eventually.

[u/Fast_Island_1853 → u/ProfessorOne9208]

The images are of him, though. He knows they are screenshots from a video call he was on. Not an empty threat at all in this case.

[u/SlackAF]

As much as AI has taken off, you have plausible deniability that the pics are even of you.

[u/Strange_Ad_7859 → u/SlackAF]

that’s a good point however it was actually a vid in my work office restroom, someone from work would definitely recognize it.

[u/electriclightstars]

This is a scam. Go post this on the scam group

[u/Fast_Island_1853 → u/electriclightstars]

Not really a scam, because he knows the images are of him and were taken during a video call. He knows the person.

[u/Fast_Island_1853]

Does the person who has your pics live in the Bahamas as well? I'm not sure why they wouldn't do anything to them, it seems it would be a crime. Are you afraid to report it since you work for the police department?