Philippines Crack Down on Sextortion Ring

Internet extortion racketeers near Manila are luring foreigners into sending illicit material which they then use for blackmail.

The swindlers use social media websites like Facebook to meet people overseas and then engage in cybersex using video call services such as Skype.

The victims, so far, have been from Hong Kong, Singapore and Macau. Eight suspects were arrested and five minors taken into custody following complaints from targets.

"Unknown to the victim, these acts were recorded. Once the suspect captured sufficiently lewd video footages, he/she would stop the call instantly. Immediately, the victim would receive messages ... from the suspect, threatening the victim that his lewd acts were video recorded with a video link to prove it," authorities said in a statement.

The suspect would then demand the victim either pay around $30,000 or have the footage publicly aired on social media or sent to the victims’ friends and relatives.

“Initially, the group used women but later recruited five minors who were taught to lure other victims,” AFP reports. “The minors have since been turned over to social workers.”