¢112k Lost to Online Blackmail so Far in 2024- CSA

The Cyber Security Authority (CSA) says a total of GH¢ 112,209 has been lost in 226 reported cases of online blackmail in the country this year.

The Authority says the menace has increased by 254% since March 2024.

A statement issued by the Authority on Wednesday read, “Following the March 2024 alert, in which the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) noted a 254% year-on-year increase in online blackmail cases for the first two months of the year, an additional one hundred and forty-one (141) reports were filed between March and June.

According to the CSA, the worrying trend begins with friendships on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, which advances to WhatsApp where the friendships grow into intimate relationships, luring targeted individuals into making nude video calls on WhatsApp that are secretly recorded by the malicious actors.

“These actors may initiate unsolicited video calls, capture the target’s face, and then use it for fake explicit content or exchange explicit photos (usually not of themselves) with the target and later manipulate them into sharing theirs.”

In other instances, the Authority says malicious actors may gain unauthorised access to private photos and videos of their target when the victim’s mobile devices are taken for repairs and then threaten to release compromising material unless the victim pays a ransom.

The CSA has thus advised the public against sharing intimate content with social media friends as well as decline online friend requests from unknown individuals.

Additionally, it cautioned against video calls from unknown people on social media platforms; capturing or storing nude images or videos of themselves on their devices; and unsolicited messages or offers promising money or business opportunities.

Meanwhile, phone users have also been advised to use strong passwords to protect sensitive data and only use reputable mobile device repair services.