What would you do if someone sent you an e-mail threatening to release pictures that they stole, off of your computer, to the media if you didn’t cooperate and send them nude pictures of yourself? Would you go to the authorities, or simply send them the pictures that they asked for?
19-year-old Cassidy Wolf was forced to make this decision, when someone hacked into her webcam and claimed that they had nude photographs of her. The hacker told Wolf if she didn’t send more nude pictures then he would make the them public for all to see. Wolf didn’t take any chances, and went straight to the police with the “sextortion” threat. According to collinsdictionary.com, “sextortion” is defined as, “a form of sexual exploitation that employs non-physical forms of coercion by threatening to release sexual images or information to extort sexual favors from the victim.”
“I wasn’t aware that somebody was watching me on my webcam,” Wolf said. “The light on the camera didn’t even go on, so I had no idea.”
FBI spokeswoman, Laura Eimiller said, “Many victims are embarrassed or keep it to themselves. Coming forward is key to stopping the criminal activity.” There is currently a federal investigation into the crime and it is believed that they may have a suspect. No further information, into the investigation, has been released.
Wolf was crowned Miss Teen USA on Saturday in the Bahamas. She will reign for one-year and hopes that during this year she can raise awareness of the increasing number of cyber-crimes that are targeting young women. “This next year I’m just so excited to be able to share my story and raise awareness in young teens about what can happen,” she said.