The bottom line is, never trust the internet.
Especially when it involves sending intimate pictures to an unverified social media account, as a local man recently learned.
Police reported the skinny on this attempted extortion case following a complaint called into the Trail detachment the night of Sunday, May 29.
That’s when the RCMP was alerted to a firsthand account from a Trail man reporting an attempted extortion that occurred through an online social media account.
The man reported that he sent a nude photograph to another social media account, then received a message to transfer $400 electronically or the photograph would be posted to the public on the internet.
Police say the man realized he was duped, as he did not know the true identity of the person he sent the photo to.
He immediately contacted the Trail RCMP for assistance. Trail police then determined the extortion was likely perpetrated from an account based in a foreign country.
Police say the account in question was deleted after the man reported the incident to law enforcement.
“The victim did the right thing and contacted the RCMP for assistance,” says Sgt. Mike Wicentowich, detachment commander for the Greater Trail district.
“We were able to help prevent his further victimization and any loss of money. Trail RCMP asks the public not to send money to anyone that you cannot verify as a legitimate person.”
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