STRATHCONA COUNTY, Alberta— The RCMP are warning Albertans to be cautious online as sextortion cases continue to rise. Recently, Strathcona County RCMP, just outside of Edmonton, concluded an investigation into over 30 sextortion incidents where victims were targeted through email.
In each case, suspects claimed to have explicit videos of the victims viewing adult content online. They demanded $2,000 in Bitcoin, threatening to release the videos to the victims’ friends and family if the payment was not made. The emails were traced to suspects in Armenia, Palestine, Taiwan, Russia, South Korea, and Libya.
Despite identifying the sources, police say extradition is not possible due to the low monetary value of the crimes and the suspects’ countries of origin. The RCMP are reminding the public never to pay extortion demands and to remain vigilant when browsing online.
