Privacy lawyer warns against victim blaming in recent sextortion scams

A Canadian expert in privacy says he’s concerned about victim blaming after recent reports of online “sextortion” scams in two Atlantic Canadian provinces.

The RCMP has issued warnings advising people to not accept online friend requests from strangers after several cases arose in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador in recent weeks.

READ MORE: ‘It’s part of an organized ring’: RCMP encouraging people caught in a sextortion scam to come forward

Such scams typically involve the perpetrator obtaining sexual photos and videos of their victims and threatening to share the images with the victims’ friends and families if they don’t send money.

David Fraser, a privacy lawyer at McInnes Cooper in Halifax, says victims of such crimes are sometimes told that they shouldn’t have sent the pictures or videos in the first place.

He says that kind of mindset doesn’t help the victim and places the onus of the crime on them instead of the person who extorted them.

WATCH: RCMP warn of ‘sextortion’ scam attempts in Halifax

He adds that he’s also worried that many cases may go unreported if victims feel too ashamed to go to the police due to the sensitive nature of the crime.