WE have renewed our warning to people who use social media and webcams after three more victims of a webcam blackmail scam have come forward. Officers issued an appeal earlier this month after a woman claiming to be called Cathy Wong, befriended men on Facebook and asked them to skype her. She then enticed them into performing an indecent act which she recorded on video. She has then told the victims that her grandmother is ill and needs money and has asked them each to send £3,000 via money transfer. In the most recent case, a woman called Ling Cheung befriended the victim, a man from York, who reported the offence to the police this week. But please be aware that the suspects could use any name. Officers have reiterated their warning to members of the public, in particular students, to be on their guard and not to befriend anyone on the internet who they do not know or pass intimate photos or videos of themselves to anyone. We cant emphasise strongly enough how important internet safety is. Please dont leave yourself vulnerable to online criminals. The victims in these cases have been left extremely distressed by whats happened to them and we urge everyone using social media to be on their guard and to please be careful when it comes to sharing images. Not only can criminals use the images to blackmail you, but once they have been uploaded to the internet, they are virtually impossible to remove. If you believe you have been a victim of this scam, please call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 1 and pass information to the Force Control Room. Victims have come forward from the York, Whitby and Selby areas. For more information about online safety visit northyorkshire.police.uk/onlinesafety
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 20:11:12 +0000
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