With the opening of regular classes in the country on Monday, the Philippine National Police has intensified its campaign against online ‘sextortion’ and activated its ‘Operation Strikeback 3’ for this purpose.
‘Operation Strikeback 3’ targets criminals who extort women, children, and men, said the PNP’s Anti-Cybercrime Group.
Sextortion is an online modus operandi wherein the victim after being befriended and having online romantic relationship with the suspect will be lured to do sexual acts in front of a webcam.
Taking advantage of the trust built over a short period of time, the suspect will record the victim’s sexual acts and threaten the victim of uploading it if he will not send money in exchange of deleting or giving the soft copy of the nude photographs or videos.
“We are very much aware of the possibility that young students may end up victims of ‘sextortion’ in the country with the opening of regular classes this month since during the summer period, we made at least three sextortion-related arrests with students as victims,” said PNP-ACG director, Senior Superintendent Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar.
Two weeks ago, police smashed a global ‘sextortion’ ring based in Olongapo City following a raid which resulted in the arrest of 28 suspects. Eleazar said the suspects were found ‘selling pornographic materials’ or pornographic website links to their clients abroad and later duping them into exposing themselves in front of webcams.
“The suspects are known for blackmailing their victims and demanding money from them or they will upload their video footage showing them naked and engaging in sexual acts via Internet,” said the PNP-ACG director.
Eleazar cited three PNP ACG operations since last month, which led to the arrest of three ‘‘sextortion’’ suspects.
In Sta. Rosa City, Laguna, PNP-ACG operatives arrested a 22-year-old college student who secretly filmed his two classmates while they were having a sexual tryst inside a Batangas resort and threatened to upload the sex video in Facebook if the couple will not give him P30,000.
Last May 4, PNP ACG operatives also arrested a Grade 6 teacher in Davao City who forced his young student to have sex with him and threatened to expose her nude photographs on social media when she tried to end their immoral relationship.
Two weeks ago, PNP ACG agents arrested another college student for “sextortion’’ in Quezon City, the latest to be arrested for enticing individuals to pose naked in front of webcams before threatening to upload their naked pictures on the internet if they will fail to heed their extortion demand.
The arrest of Lonny Lou Beltran alias ‘Carlo Cruz,’ a student of the Holy Trinity University in Q.C. Came on the heels of a complaint from a 21-year-old female victim. The victim identified only as ‘Monalisa’ said the suspect demanded P60,000 from her or her naked photographs will be uploaded on the internet.
The PNP ACG investigation showed that the suspect used different names to entice the victim through Facebook to be an Avon model who will be paid a starting salary of P27,000 a month.
When the complainant agreed to send her photographs wearing an undershirt without a brassiere, a photo of her wearing only an underwear and bra, pictures of her armpit and groin area and eventually, her naked pictures, she received threats from the suspects that her pictures will be downloaded on the internet if she won’t pay P60,000.
Police said the suspect even told the victim that if she can’t afford to pay the P60,000-demand , she can pay the balance by having sex with his three friends for P3,000 each, the money going to his own pocket. The arrested suspect yielded the boodle money as well as computers and smart phones he used to call the victim.