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The Police would like to alert members of the public to the rise in cyber extortion scams involving intimate images and sexually explicit video calls. Since August 2026, the Police have received at least 52 reports, with losses amounting to at least $134,000.

In such cases, victims are typically approached through dating applications or social media platforms. After establishing contact, scammers would persuade victims to continue the conversations on messaging applications where they would be deceived into participating in sexually explicit video calls or sharing intimate photographs. Unknown to the victims, the scammers would secretly record the video calls or retain the exchanged photographs. The scammers would then threaten to either release the intimate images and recordings online, or send them to the victims' family members, friends or social media contacts unless payment is made.

The extortion often continues even after victims make payment.

Members of the public who encounter such approaches are advised to take the following precautions:

• Refrain from participating in sexually explicit video calls or sharing intimate photographs especially with persons whom you have only recently met online.
• Exercise caution when interacting with strangers on dating applications, social media platforms and messaging applications.
• Avoid revealing personal information online and consider setting social media accounts to private to restrict access to your contacts and followers.
• Do not accede to the scammers’ demands or make any payment. Payment does not guarantee that the material will be deleted and may lead to further extortion.
• Cease all communication with the scammers and retain all communications, screenshots and transaction records as evidence. 
• Report the matter to the Police as soon as possible.
  
  

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg. Fighting scams is a community effort. Together, we can ACT Against Scams to keep our community safe.

Annex

Examples of Scam Messages Used in Cyber Extortion Cases