What to Do If Someone is Blackmailing You on Snapchat (2024)

If someone is threatening you on Snapchat and making you feel scared and alone, remember that you’re not alone. You’re not at fault here. There are ways to stand up against these bullies.

Here’s what you can do:

1. Don’t talk to the person threatening you.
   2. Don’t try to give them what they want or pay them any money.
   3. Keep records of all the messages and evidence of what’s happening.
   4. Adjust your online settings to keep yourself safer.
   5. Set up alerts to let you know if someone mentions you online.
   6. Tell Snapchat about the person bothering you.
   7. Tell the police about what’s happening.
   8. Get in touch with a lawyer who knows about blackmail.
2. Hire a investigator
3. Hire a Hacker
4. Hire our attorney

we’ve helped others in your situation deal with online bullying. We can help you find out who’s behind this, report it to the online platforms, and get rid of the bad stuff.

This article will help you understand what’s going on and give you practical advice on how to fight back against this kind of bullying on Snapchat.

What is Blackmail and How Does it Hurt People?
Blackmail on the internet can take many forms. It might be called ‘sextortion’ or ‘sexual blackmail’. This kind of crime is becoming more common as more people connect online. Let’s first understand what this crime really is.

According to the law, blackmail is when someone threatens to share harmful or embarrassing information about you unless you do what they want. They might ask for money, or they might want something else, like a favor.

It’s important to know that the person is committing a crime as soon as they make the threat, even if you don’t give them anything.

What Happens to Victims of Snapchat Blackmail?
Being blackmailed on Snapchat can really mess up your life. Here are some common ways it can hurt you:

1. **Social Problems**: After going through something like this, it’s hard to trust people. You might feel unsure about talking to people online, and if the blackmailer was someone you were close to, it can be hard to trust new relationships.

2. **Professional and Money Problems**: If you end up giving the blackmailer what they want (which we don’t recommend), you could lose a lot of money. Even if you don’t pay, you might need to get help from a therapist or lawyer, which can be expensive.

If the stuff they’re threatening to share gets out, it can mess up your job and career. You might lose job opportunities or positions of leadership because of what they’re saying.

3. **Physical and Mental Health Issues**: Being blackmailed can really hurt your mental and physical health. Just the thought of private, personal stuff being made public is super stressful and lonely. Taking legal action against the blackmailer can be really hard and make you feel even worse. You might feel like there’s nowhere to turn and your life is falling apart.

Lots of people who’ve been blackmailed feel things like not being able to sleep well, headaches, not feeling hungry, or even really serious health problems. Mentally, it can lead to feeling really sad, anxious, having low self-esteem, or even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Some people even think about hurting themselves.

But please remember, no matter how bad things seem, hurting yourself is never the answer. If you’re feeling this way, please call the Suicide Prevention Helpline at 988 any time, day or night. They’re there to help.

Understanding How Snapchat Blackmailers Work

To protect yourself from possible threats, it’s important to know how to recognize the warning signs of a blackmailer on social media. In this part, we explain how and why people who want to harm others use Snapchat to find victims.

Why Snapchat is Attractive to Blackmailers

Snapchat has features that make it appealing to people who want to extort or harm others. Many young people use this platform, so there are a lot of potential victims.

Unlike other social media apps, pictures and messages on Snapchat disappear after a short time. Because of this, people might feel more comfortable sharing personal stuff with strangers. Since messages vanish, it can be harder for victims to keep evidence of the threats.

But blackmailers can easily use other tools to save Snapchat messages, while victims might not save proof until it’s too late. Snapchat also makes it simple to make fake accounts with made-up information, which is perfect for tricksters.

What Happens in a Typical Snapchat Blackmail Situation
Many blackmailers on Snapchat use the same plan to find and target victims. If you know the common signs of a trickster, you might be able to avoid most blackmail and harmful attempts on the platform.

Here’s what most Snapchat blackmailers do:

1. Making a Fake Profile: First, they create a fake Snapchat profile to trick their victims. They might pretend to be an attractive young person, for example. To seem real, these tricksters often steal pictures and info from a real person’s social media profile.

2. Building Trust: Then, the blackmailer sends connection requests to many potential victims all at once. If you accept their friend request, they start talking to you and try to make you trust them. They might share fake personal stories and have long conversations to make you feel safe.

3. Getting Personal Content From You: Eventually, the conversation becomes flirty and very intimate. The trickster might send you a revealing picture or video of “themselves” that they took from an adult website. Then, they ask you to do the same.

4. Making a Threat: Once you send a revealing picture or video, the trickster changes their tone. They tell you they’ve saved copies of the compromising content. They threaten to share it with everyone (or with your closest friends and family) unless you give them money or do what they want. Sometimes, they might even pretend to send it out. But often, this “proof” is fake. They do this to try to get you to pay them.

5. Using Pressure & Fear: When tricksters threaten on Snapchat, proof of what they’re doing disappears fast. They use your fear and feeling of being helpless to push you into doing what they want quickly. They often give you very little time and try to make their threats seem very urgent.

Make Your Online Accounts More Private

To keep your information safe on Snapchat, you can adjust your settings. Here’s how:

1. Open your settings by tapping the gear icon in your profile.
2. Scroll to “Privacy Controls” and choose your preferences.
3. Don’t forget to save your choices.

You can decide:

- Who can talk to you directly (with Snaps, Chats, and calls).
- What notifications you get.
- Who can see your story (you can block specific people if needed).
- If your Stories are public or just for friends.
- Who can see your location on the Snap Map.
- Who can see you in Quick Add.
- If others can see your recent Snapchat activity.

If someone is bothering you on Snapchat, they might try to bother you on other sites too. Make sure to make your accounts on all social media more private and block the person when you can. But remember, save any messages from them before you block them.

Get Notified Online

Google Alerts is a tool that tells you when your name or a specific word shows up online. If the person threatening you posts anything about you, this can help you find it quickly.

Tell Snapchat about the Person

What the blackmailer is doing breaks Snapchat’s rules. By reporting the content or the person’s account, you might be able to get their stuff taken down.

To report a Snap or Story, hold down on it and click “Report Snap”. Choose why you’re reporting it and submit.

To report the person’s account, go to their profile, hold down on their username, click “Manage Friendship”, and then “Report”.

Remember, if you report them, they’ll know it was you. It might take a few reports for anything to happen.

Tell the Police & the People Who Handle Blackmail

Blackmail is against the law. The person bothering you might be breaking a bunch of laws. The FBI has a special team for online crimes. When you tell them what’s happening, they’ll pass it on to the right people.

Call a Lawyer Who Knows About Blackmail

If you’re dealing with blackmail on Snapchat, don’t wait. The faster you get a lawyer, the better chance you have of fixing things without too much trouble.

Blackmail is a crime and a big violation of your privacy. A lawyer who knows about this can help a lot. They can talk to the person causing problems and make it stop.

They can also help figure out who’s doing this anonymously and work with different websites to get rid of any bad stuff the person posts. Some lawyers also help protect your online reputation.

A lot of law firms, like Minc Law, are available for emergency calls even outside of normal working hours. If you’re being blackmailed, get in touch with a lawyer who knows about online stuff as soon as you can.

How to Stay Safe from Snapchat Blackmail

It’s important to know how to avoid getting into a blackmail situation on Snapchat. Here are some tips to help you stay safe:

1. Be Cautious About Adding New Friends:
— Think carefully before accepting friend requests from people you don’t know. While it’s fun to make new friends online, be careful with strangers. They could access your private messages, posts, and even find out where you are by adding you as a friend. Stick to adding people you actually know in real life to stay safe.

2. Recognize Warning Signs of Blackmailers:
— Learn to spot signs that someone might be trying to trick or harm you. Some common signs include:
— Profiles with very little activity or history.
— Very few friends or connections on their profile.
— Avoiding showing their face or talking on a call.
— Asking for money or favors.
— Telling stories that don’t seem believable, or giving excuses for not meeting in person.
— Quickly turning the conversation flirty or sexual.

3. Avoid Sharing Intimate Images Online:
— While it’s okay to share personal pictures with someone you trust, be extremely careful, especially when it comes to intimate or revealing images. Once you send a picture, you can’t control where it goes next. Even if you know and trust the person, once it’s online, it’s not private anymore. Many problems like revenge pictures or blackmail start with sharing these kinds of images.

4. Keep Personal Information Private:
— Blackmailers often use your personal information to pressure you into doing what they want. The more private info you share publicly, like your friends, where you work, or where you are, the more a scammer can use against you. Be really careful with what you share online. Don’t tell anyone your address, phone number, money details, or personal ID.

If you’re talking to someone new online, be even more careful not to say anything that could be used against you later on. These tips can help keep you safe from blackmail and other online dangers.