Blackmail Investigation: Why You Need Professional Help

The fiscal year 2020-21 noticed over 67,500 online extortion reports. Blackmailing or extortion schemes tend to make you anxious about your safety. These offenders may threaten you about disclosing your private information online unless you agree to pay them.

But giving into these threats is not the solution. Even if you pay them a hefty amount once, they would be back with more demands in the future. This is why you need professional help to identify and report the perpetrator to achieve peace of mind.

Blackmailing is a major criminal offence in the country. So, itis best to hire blackmail investigation services by a private investigator. They would help you collect evidence about blackmail threats. You can then file a case against blackmailers through this evidence.

Before we discuss how to deal with such threats, let us take a look at different types of blackmail.

Defamation Threats

You may often hear the advice never to share explicit images with people you do not know on the internet.

Unfortunately, these frauds have evolved with time. Now, it has become a critical challenge to protect your private information in this digital era. Scammers may use advanced tactics to find a way to breach privacy and steal your personal information.

These blackmailers may invade your privacy by hacking your smartphone or email addresses. This would enable them to steal your private information such as credit card details. Also, they may gain control of your webcam or smartphone camera and then monitor and record your surroundings.

With this information, they may threaten to defame you by sharing your private information including explicit images and videos on the internet.

Extortion

Extortion is when someone threatens to reveal information you do not want others to see. It can be personal videos, email or chat threads, or hidden information about your past.

Such extortion tactics may go on for a long time. And you may be forced to pay a hefty sum every few months or so. Since the person feels isolated and helpless, it is not easy to deal with the problem on your own. You should rather contact a reliable private investigator for extortion investigation.

A similar case gained media attention back in 2019. There was a robbery in a Sydney house. After losing their valuable possessions to robbers, the residents faced ongoing extortion threats through letters and social media messages. Australian Police captured blackmailers after a thorough investigation when homeowners reported the incident.

Threatening Messages against Businesses

Threatening messages do not only target individuals. Businesses are also at risk of these threats. So, they may need blackmail investigation services for safety purposes.

Scammers may steal intellectual property or trade secrets. They can then manipulate corporations with this information. To steal this information, they may rely on different tactics. This includes hacking work systems, bugging the workspace, and corporate fraud.

Threats usually involve disclosing information that can harm the brand image. In some scenarios, they may steal customer or employee information and threaten to misuse it. They may demand payment in exchange for keeping the secret.

While hackers often use these tactics, business competitors or dishonest employees also instigate these threats.

Knowing that giving in to their demands would cause further losses, it is best to acquire blackmail investigation services. Experienced private investigators can assist in determining the identity of blackmailers. Also, they can help you collect evidence that will prove valuable if you decide to take legal action.

Ransomware – Digital Extortion

A modern form of digital extortion is known as ransomware. It is a form of malware that targets data and locks digital assets and information. Cybercriminals then proceed to ask for huge ransom and threaten with deleting this critical data.

Ransomware targets individuals as well as businesses. 2020-22 noticed the increasing use of the internet with lockdown and stay-at-home orders. People relied on the internet for communication, shopping, food delivery, and other daily needs. Also, most of the workforce went remote during the pandemic.

Scammers used the situation to their advantage. This is why ransomware attacks increased by 60% in 2021.

Small businesses are likely targets of ransomware attacks. With limited financial resources, it is not always easy to arrange funds on an urgent basis. Further, there is no guarantee they would regain access to data even if they pay the asked amount to hackers.

Under such circumstances, the best option is to hire a private investigator for blackmail investigation.

Blackmail Investigation Services by a Private Investigator

In May 2020, a Sydney-based young man was sentenced to nine years and four months in prison. His criminal offence included threatening children and teenagers with leaking explicit images on the internet.

The 24-year old had earlier posed as a teenager and befriended his targets on social media. But one of them reported the incident to law enforcement officials with help from their parents.

New South Wales reports the highest number of such cases – 18.5%. But it is not easy to stand up to blackmailers and find the way out. This is when a licenced and experienced private investigator can help with blackmail investigation.

How Private Investigators Work

Private investigators can assist with recovering money through sophisticated means. For this purpose, they would track the location of scammers with advanced tools. Also, they can identify the person(s) sending you threatening messages by following the paper trail.

You may decide to take legal action against people ruining your peace of mind. So, private investigators would assist you in preparing a strong case. They would also gather evidence to support the legal case.

Private investigation firms handle these cases with caution. Knowing that blackmailers can attempt to cause you harm, they would investigate the case in a discrete manner. Thus, you can trust them to prioritize your safety while collecting relevant evidence.

Learn more about professional Surveillance Investigation services from our experts!