A technical expert and two educational and legal consultants warned that old, forgotten groups that were left by their members without deleting the photos and videos in them could become a source of electronic blackmail.
They called for caution when sharing any personal content on these platforms, and ensuring that personal accounts are protected using the available security features, in addition to reporting to the competent authorities any blackmail attempts they are exposed to, to ensure the protection of their privacy.
Cyber blackmailers rely on new methods to trap their victims, perhaps the most recent of which is targeting members of groups, especially those that were created a long time ago. In many cases, members leave the group without deleting old photos and videos, which makes them vulnerable to blackmail, after the blackmailer hacks the group itself, collects photos and videos of its members, and threatens to publish them on social media platforms.
Educational consultant, Dr. Badriya Al-Dhanhani, stressed that blackmail represents a form of coercion, where a person is forced to give up something of value, such as money or any property.
She stated that those aged between 12 and 18 are the most vulnerable group to this type of crime, as they face severe psychological pressure from blackmailers on the one hand and families and society on the other.
She explained that the blackmailer is often a person who suffers from behavioral disorders and family instability, which leads him to practice these actions to compensate for the lack of family support, and he may also learn these behaviors from others.
She stressed the need to follow several steps to avoid the harms of blackmail, most notably immediate reporting to the competent authorities to achieve justice and prevent further crimes, stressing the importance of building resilience and awareness among individuals and educating adolescents and community groups about the methods used by blackmailers to manipulate victims.
She explained that understanding the psychological tactics and tricks that blackmailers resort to, such as raising fears and emotional manipulation, is essential to protecting the mental health of victims and preventing their negative impact on them.
Eng. Mohammed Al Shehhi, a technical expert in operating systems and lecturer at the Higher Colleges of Technology, stressed that social media has become an integral part of our daily lives. It is a window that allows us to communicate with others, exchange opinions, and document private moments. However, despite its many benefits, it is not without risks, especially with our increasing reliance on it. He pointed to challenges related to security and privacy, as our personal moments can be transformed into a tool for blackmail, and the threat of publishing their contents.
Al-Shehhi said that a hacker collected the data of 700 million people in 2021, through the job search program “LinkedIn”, and offered it for sale online. It included sensitive information that could be exploited to carry out more sophisticated attacks such as identity theft.
He presented the Facebook data leak incident that occurred in 2019, which revealed more than 540 million records of the platform’s users on unsecured servers, allowing hackers to access sensitive information, such as user IDs, comments, and interactions.
He added that cyber attacks are not limited to major thefts, but also include individuals for personal reasons, such as revenge hacks on the Snapchat platform, where people were able to hack into the accounts of their ex-partners and leak private photos and messages for the purpose of revenge, which caused harm to the victims and in some cases led to resorting to the law.
He believed that “the impact of hacks on forgotten groups and abandoned accounts on social media platforms goes beyond the mere loss of data or the spread of personal information, as these incidents can leave psychological wounds on the victims, as a result of violating their privacy, and may lead to tarnishing their personal and professional reputation.”
Regarding ways to protect yourself from falling into the traps of electronic blackmailers, he called for following some precautionary measures, such as choosing strong and unique passwords for each account, and not reusing them on another site, because this makes it easy for a hacker to access and hack the account. He also called for activating two-step verification, which provides an additional layer of security, as the user must provide a code sent to his mobile phone, in addition to the password to access the account.
It is recommended to change passwords regularly to reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
He urged caution against fraudulent attacks that may arrive via email or text messages, and to monitor account activity regularly to detect any unknown changes or unauthorized activity, while deleting photos and videos from accounts before closing or abandoning them.
Legal advisor Rashid Al-Hafiti stated that the penalty for electronic blackmail is imprisonment and a fine of no less than AED 250,000, explaining that the law stipulates that anyone who blackmails or threatens another person to commit or refrain from doing something, using the Internet or an information technology means, shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years and a fine of no less than AED 250,000 and no more than AED 500,000, or by one of these two penalties. He added that the penalty shall be imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 years, if the threat is to commit a felony or to attribute matters that are offensive to honor or reputation.
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