Numerous victims in online fraud targeting Arab Israelis
Extortionist targeted Israeli Arabs, threatning to publish nude photos and videos of them on YouTube; well-known public figures among the victims.
Police received numerous complaints regarding a Moroccan citizen that posed as a young Lebanese or Syrian woman online, chatted with Arab men and forced them to pay thousands of dollars, threatening to upload videos of them performing sexual acts onto YouTube if they refused to comply.
Several of the men who were faced with the blackmailer decided to pay while others refused and evidently found their nude photos and videos circulating online. The blackmailer targeted Arab men in Israel, some of whom well-known public figures in the Arab sector.
"It destroys the future of a man," one victim said to Ynet.
The police have received dozens of extortion complaints in the past two months and affirmed their knowledge of the alleged Moroccan blackmailer.
Some of the victims claimed the man fabricated the nude photos and videos while others admitted to the act and transferred large sums of money to the blackmailer in order to avoid the embarrassment of having their nude photos published on the internet.
When a northern Israeli man who is a known educator refused to pay the Moroccan blackmailer, fabricated photos of him were sent to his friends and family.
"The blackmailer was a Moroccan citizen posing as a young Lebanese girl," he said.
"She asked me to open my camera, and on the screen was a young woman who did not speak. In the beginning I was suspicious, but she claimed there was a problem with her speakers. After a couple of days, fabricated nude photos of myself were sent to me with the demand I pay 10,000 dollars," he said.
The man refused to send the money, and as previously stated, the fabricated photos were published on the internet two weeks ago.
"I personally filed a complaint with the police. What I went through was not easy for me. These kinds of acts ruin a man's future, and because of this, awareness must be raised on the issue and we should not enter chats with people we do not know," the victim said.
Translation of the conversation between the blackmailer and the victim:
Blackmailer: I have good news for you.
Victim: What are you talking about?
Blackmailer: Do you want to be embarrassed or reach a compromise?
Victim: About what?
Blackmailer: I made a video of you performing sexual acts. I'm planning on publishing it and sending a link to all of your friends and family. Do you want to be embarrassed or reach a compromise?
Victim: But I didn't perform any sexual acts hahaha.
Blackmailer: You're a liar.
An Israeli businessman also said he was extorted by the Moroccan citizen.
"I chatted with a young girl who said she was from Syria. She asked me to get naked and perform sexual acts. Unfortunately, I agreed. Two days later, she started sending me threatening messages that said if I did not pay her she would embarrass me," he said.
The businessman later found out that the blackmailer was a citizen of Morocco.
"I was really scared and was coerced to pay 6,000 dollars to prevent him from embarrassing me," he admitted.
"This is a complicated issue. If the video is published, I will lose everything," he said.
Another public figure from central Israel was able to remove a video uploaded to YouTube by the Moroccan blackmailer without paying.
"About a month ago a young girl sent me a friend request on Facebook and I accepted. After a few days, conversations began between us through my inbox. She wanted me to open my camera and surprise her after she asked to see me naked. I immediately deleted her as a friend. A few days later, she sent me a link to YouTube. I looked and saw a photo of myself."
"It turned out that it was a Morrocan man that asked me to pay him 2,000 dollars in a matter of hours or he would circulate the video," said the victim.
"In the beginning I was really scared. Even if it is fabricated and not real, go try and explain to people that it isn't me. Even my wife did not believe everything that was published."
"I personally decided not to pay because I was never naked and I was able to remove the link from YouTube," he said.
He also preferred not to file an official complaint saying, "There were many complaints filed and the police did not do anything because it's not a political file or relating to the security of the country. But I suspect one day a woman will find herself in this position, will not know how to respond, and lose her life."
The police responded saying, "We know of many similar incidents."
Head of the Northern District Cyber Unit Police Superintendent Galit Winograd said, "In each case we strive to reach the subject and bring him to justice, even if he is abroad. It depends on our connections."
The officer added, "Once a picture is put on the internet, it is very difficult to take it down, this is why people need to be careful. It is true that there are fabricated photos, but in most of the complaints we received the photos and videos were real."
The Center for Safe Internet headed by the Israel Internet Association recently received several complaints of a similar nature. The manager of the center, Orna Hillinger emphasized, "Once a photo reaches the wrong hands, there is not much left to do. Therefore, it is important to raise awareness on the issue and the fact that other than privacy invasion the danger of internet fraud still exists. It is advised to avoid these situations beforehand so as not to reach regrettable decisions."
