Online predators blackmailing vulnerable teenagers in the UAE

Online predators are encouraging vulnerable teenagers to share explicit pictures of themselves on social media before blackmailing them, experts have warned. Parents in the UAE have been advised to keep a close eye on their children’s internet use to prevent them falling victim to the scam. Barry Lee Cummings of campaign group Beat The Cyber Bully, which promotes in online safety, said he was aware of instances of fraudsters demanding up to Dh2,000. A child psychologist also said that children were even being blackmailed into doing homework for classmates who had compromising pictures of them. “It is usually children who are being targeted by predators monitoring activity on Snapchat and Instagram,” said Mr Cummings. “They are monitoring profiles and pretending to be the same age and going through similar issues.” The practice of blackmailing people who have posted compromising content of themselves on social media is known as sextortion. The phenomenon is not new and Dubai and Abu Dhabi police have previously warned the public to be wary of the deceit. Under UAE law, anyone found guilty of the practise faces two years in jail and a fine between Dh250,000 and Dh500,000. Mr Cummings, whose company works with schools in the UAE, said he was aware of hundreds of cases where young people had shared explicit pictures and subsequently been blackmailed. He said the threat posed by predators was very real and that parents needed to ensure children felt comfortable coming to them for help if they fell victim. “The cases that we have dealt with personally tend to involve young girls who have shared explicit pictures of themselves,” he said. “The predators target the more vulnerable and this tends to be girls because they are more open and honest with what they share online. “This is not a world made of rainbows and unicorns. There are sick people out there who are willing to exploit the vulnerable.” Mr Cummings said victims he had spoken to were blackmailed for sums of between Dh500 to Dh2,000. “I have spoken to teenage victims of extortion here and the advice I would give anyone in the same situation would be not to pay the blackmailers,” he said. “Once they pay, the blackmailers will see them as an easy touch and will more than likely ask them for more money.” Dubai psychologist Thoraiya Kanafani said she had offered counselling to many teenage victims of blackmail in the UAE. She said perpetrators often lived close to the victims and were not always looking for cash. “It’s predominantly females who are the victims and the blackmailers tend to be looking for sexual favours,” said Dr Kanafani. “It is often girls between the ages of 17 and 18 who have sent a picture to a guy they like. “I have been told of cases in which girls have been asked to complete homework for classmates who were blackmailing them.” Dr Kanafani said she had worked with more than a dozen teenage victims in the UAE who were blackmailed over pictures they had shared online. But she suggested many more cases had likely gone unreported due to the shame and embarrassment felt by victims. “Predators are looking for weakness and target children with low self-esteem,” she said. “It is important that parents work on strengthening the confidence of their children.” It is not always explicit material that leads to blackmail, according to Dr Kanafani. “It can be the case that someone knows a teenager has started to smoke and is threatening to tell their parents if they don’t carry out favours for them,” she said. “It could also be the case that a picture has been circulating online of a young person smoking or drinking alcohol at a party and someone is using it as leverage. “If the victims took a step back and talked to someone about it they would see that it’s not so bad. “The blackmailers target emotion rather than logic.” She said there was only one realistic option available to the victims of blackmail. “They should take a screenshot or photograph and bring it to the police immediately,” she said. A survey released last week by international cybersecurity firm Symantec, revealed 80 per cent of parents in the UAE were concerned their children were directly at risk by being online. Abu Dhabi Police investigated 774 cybercrime cases in 2017, 206 of which were categorised as blackmail. Speaking at the time, Brig Tariq Al Ghoul, Director of the Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Investigation, said that people needed to be careful about what was published on websites, especially social media. The UAE's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) also offered advice regarding cyber blackmailing. "Don't accept friendship requests from people you don't know," reads the TRA website. It also warned users not to send money to someone because of a threat that had been made.

Online predators blackmailing vulnerable teenagers in the UAE

Youngsters who share revealing pictures of themselves online are being targetted