The Cyber Security Authority (CSA) says it continues to record a rise in online blackmail and sextortion cases resulting in a GHC 112,209 loss in the last six months.
Between March and June alone, the Authority said it recorded 141 new complaints, bringing the total number of sextortion to 226 for this year.
Sexual extortion, or sextortion, involves persuading someone to send explicit photos online and then threatening to make the images public if the victim does not pay money or obtain sexual favors.
The CSA has advised the public to be cautious about online relationships and urged people to report cybercrime, although it’s not indicated what it’s doing to punish or sanitise the cyberspace.
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Public Alert – Online Blackmail/Sextortion Cases on the Rise ‼️#sextortion #online #blackmail #alert #Public pic.twitter.com/qlQki0DPBS
— Cyber Security Authority Ghana (@CSAGhana) July 31, 2024
Earlier this month, Facebook and Instagram‘s parent company, Meta removed about 63,000 Instagram accounts and thousands of Facebook accounts in Nigeria that were trying to target people in sextortion schemes, as such cases have increased in recent years.
Last year for instance, two Nigerian men were extradited from Lagos to the US to face charges over an alleged sextortion case that led to a Michigan teen taking his own life.
In Ghana, authorities have not reported any such cases leading to a victim taking their own life, although sometimes there are unofficial reports.
But cyber crimes like releasing an intimate photo or video of a person onto the internet are punishable under Ghana’s laws. Offenders could face up to 15 years in prison.
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