An Athens man recently pleaded for an unknown caller to explain why he was demanding money in regards to a sexually explicit video of him that the caller threatened to share with the man’s wife.
The scammer demanded money to remove the videos before they were shared with the wife, according to the Athens-Clarke police report.
The 39-year-old man asked the caller why he was extorting him, but the scammer’s only reply was to keep demanding money, according to the report. The crime occurred Sept. 9, but the report was not released until Thursday, Sept. 19.
The FBI reported in 2021 a warning about the steep rise in sextortion complaints. Most of the victims told the FBI that initial contact was mutual and made over various websites.
“Thousands are victimized by this scam,” the FBI reported.
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In this case, the man reported he received a message from “Gabriela” over an app and that resulted in the two having a video call. Gabriela wanted him to do a sex act on himself, which he did, police said.
But afterward, Gabriela revealed she had recorded the act and she was going to expose the video to his wife unless he sent her money. The man did send $150, but Gabriela wanted more and he sent her a text refusing, according to the report.
Then he received a call from someone calling himself Juan, who said he had the video and wanted money to have it removed from social media. He showed the man portions of the video, police said.
At this point, police reported the man decided to tell his wife what he had done. She told her husband to answer the man’s calls and record the conversation, police said.
But the report shows Juan kept demanding money.
The man finally called police and the responding officer reported he told the victim “to break off all communications with the two suspects.”
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens man tricked into sex video confesses indiscretion to wife
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