Jon Johnson File Photo/Gila Herald: Law enforcement discourages people from sharing nude photos and videos on social media apps as that is an easy way for criminals to attempt to extort money from individuals.
By Jon Johnson
GRAHAM COUNTY – It’s a too-common occurrence in the pages of our local law enforcement offices. Men send pictures and videos of themselves in an unclothed fashion to a woman they don’t even know outside of the app on their phone.
Unsurprisingly, the people who receive the images – who may not even be women at all some times – then attempt to extort money from the senders to avoid plastering their naked images over the Internet and onto the phones, tablets, and desktops of friends, family, and associates.
Recently, a man called the Graham County Sheriff’s Office late in the evening of Jan. 11 and informed of his situation.
The man said he had met a girl on an app called AntiLand and that they progressed into other social media relationships. According to the developer, AntiLand is an “anonymous chat where you can enter dozens of chat rooms and share your thoughts, chatting about anything you want without revealing your identity.”
From there, the pair added each other on Instagram and they began using the hangouts app to video chat. While using the video chat, they both sent nude photos and videos to each other, according to the man. Afterward, however, the woman requested the man send her money or she threatened to send the pictures to his friends.
The man reported the incident to the authorities. He said while the woman told him she lived in Denver, Colorado, he noticed the language on her profile on the hangouts app had writing in another language so he thinks she may live outside of the United States.
The officer informed the man to not pay the woman any money and to block her from any social media apps they are friends on or have communicated with. The officer also said that it would be difficult to pursue charges against the woman, especially if she doesn’t live in the country. Lastly, the officer suggested against sending nude photos and videos to people online in the future to avoid a similar situation from popping up again.
