Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Sex, lies and video threats: Beware of 'sextortion'
This could be the beginning of a long nightmare. Gettyimagesbank
By Jung Min-ho
By Jung Min-ho
It was supposed to be just a short, fun game ― until it turned into a never-ending nightmare.
A nice-looking woman online persuaded a man to take off his clothes and perform sexual acts in front of the webcam. So he did, only to realize in a few seconds that he had made a huge mistake.
The woman then threatened to share the footage with his family and friends unless he sent her money. After he ignored her request, she sent the video to 20 of his friends through KakaoTalk, a mobile messenger.
This is one of many stories shared on the online group “Victims of Body Cam Phishing.”
Body cam phishing, or “sextortion,” is a form of blackmail in which criminals using fake identities trick people into performing sexual acts online and then threaten to release the videos or photos unless the victims pay.
According to the National Police Agency, there has been an increase in these crimes over the past few years. In 2018, 1,406 cases were reported, up from 1,193 in 2016. Police believe the real number is much higher, given the nature of the crime.
One group of criminals arrested last year had extorted 3.2 billion won ($2.8 million) from 657 victims. They used “honey trap” actors to lure their victims and make them download malware during video chats ― saying things like “you can see me more clearly with this app” ― to get the phone numbers of the victims' families and friends, police say.
But even if the victims pay, the nightmare does not end.
“This is the third time the criminal has threatened me,” another victim wrote on the group page. “I have already paid her (or him) twice. Is it ever going to end? Someone please tell me how to deal with this.”
Police say paying the criminals will not stop them; worse, it encourages them to continue exploiting that vulnerability and look for other targets.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family runs a center to help such victims. But because it requires parental consent for teenage victims, many give up. After being criticized for being unhelpful, the ministry says it will change the system to help teenagers without telling their parents.
Some are simply scams
According to
last year, sextortion scams were on the rise. In these cases, scammers do not have the video of the people but claim they do to make similar threats.
Few people respond to the requested payment. But since the cost of sending millions of such emails is close to zero, many criminals do it for easy profits.
The reason some people fall for the scam is that criminals send emails often using authentic personally identifiable information to make their claims appear legitimate.
The FBI says one way to prevent such scammers from targeting you is not to store sensitive or embarrassing pictures of yourself online or on your mobile devices.