Online extortion: How does the scam that threatens even Larissa Manoela work?

Recently, actress Larissa Manoela announced on her social networks that she was subjected to a blackmail attempt on the Internet. Increasingly widespread on the Internet, fraud is characterized by threats to victims regarding possible images, prints or personal videos collected.

However, most of these threats are carried out only to panic the individual as the criminals do not actually have any stored content.

That’s why TecMundo has prepared a complete article. about what is online extortion, to help our readers not fall for scams. Check it out below!

Understand the plight of actress Larissa Manoela

On the first Monday of April 02, Larissa Manoela made a blast on Instagram describing the threats she received. According to the artist, a scammer contacted her and claimed to have printed out her conversations in a messaging app that was supposed to be WhatsApp.

According to the criminal, if Larissa didn’t want these conversations to come to the surface, she would have to pay for the materials to be destroyed and her privacy to remain intact.

“Friends, then, today some criminals came to me to forcibly take the so-called reprints of my speeches,” he wrote in the stories in his publication. “I ask the press to contact my team if this criminal calls them, and I reiterate that they are dealing with an illegal person,” the actor warned.

He later said he reported to the police shortly after receiving the threats and that the case would be handled by a police station specializing in cybercrime.

Larissa also sought help from fans to identify any fake prints that may have been posted online and reiterated that the case will be handled by the courts. “If you see messages there that are supposed to be from me, be skeptical and let me know, please. Laws are there to be obeyed,” the actress concluded.

What sets online extortion?

According to art. In Article 158 of the TCK, blackmail is defined as “forcing a person through violence or serious threat in order to obtain an unfair economic benefit for himself or others”.

Despite no reference to online threats, the article has been used as a basis for lawsuits across the country, as the nature of the crime remains the same, only the virtual environment in which it was committed has changed.

One of the most common cases of online blackmail is recording intimate moments while watching adult content on the Internet by sending victims emails stating that webcam footage has been collected.

Typically, scammers use leaked data from the person to bring “truth” to the message. For example, email can contain the CPF number used on the internet, the full name, and even passwords.

However, it should be known that these messages are unfounded and that the same article was sent to thousands of people at the same time, only changing personal data. With information leaks becoming more and more common, criminals take advantage of this to take advantage of other people by committing a series of breaches.

Although the situation may seem hopeless at first glance, experts advise you to stay calm and not make any payments. Just like Larissa Manoela did, it is necessary to ignore the blackmail and contact a police station so they can deal with the situation.

Also, you just need to copy and paste the body text of the email into Google to find thousands of similar cases where only some information has been changed. This action can also bring more peace of mind to the Internet user, who will find that his case is not isolated and is simply the victim of a coup attempt.

How to report cyber blackmail crime?

The best way to report extortion online is to file a complaint at the nearest police station. There are currently some police stations in Brazil that specialize in cybercrime, and they are located in states such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Paraná. A full list of all locations can be found directly on the Safer Net page.

However, if your state or city doesn’t have a police station specializing in internet crime, nothing will stop you from looking for a traditional office to sign up for. The body will be tasked with escalating the complaint to the sector responsible for the case.

In addition, some states even allow their citizens to file a police report through the website itself, with just a few clicks to have the document in their hands. It is important that it be recorded as soon as it is produced, as it will be necessary in lawsuits against fraudsters.

Where possible, it can also be interesting to let friends and family know about what happened so you can inform even more people about the scam so they don’t pay anything if approached.

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