What to do if someone is trying to blackmail you?

If someone is trying to blackmail you, you will need to act very quickly to ensure that your identity is protected and that the blackmail is put to an end as quickly as possible. Being a victim of blackmail.

Table of content

What to do if someone trying to blackmail you

How to protect your identity if you are a victim of blackmail

Can the police protect your identity as a victim of blackmail

How quickly can a solicitor obtain a blackmail injunction

What to do if someone trying to blackmail you

Blackmail sextortion happens when a predator coerces their victim to either have a sexual relationship online or offline, through dating or through a one-off visit to an escort and then the blackmailer captures sexually explicit videos of images of the victim, often without the victim's knowledge or consent.

The blackmailer then uses the explicit material to threaten their victim to either send them more images or videos or to demand money, otherwise the blackmailer would publish the material online or send it to family and friends of the victim. Blackmail and sextortion are insidious, monstrous crimes which target the rich and famous but also normal people, adults and children.

How to protect your identity if you are being a victim of blackmail

If you are being blackmailed, you will surely want your identity to be concealed and fully protected. The most likely way for you to achieve this, is, before speaking to the police, to consult with a specialist solicitor who, in most cases, will be able to apply for you to be anonymised on any court papers. This way, only the judge and your lawyers will be aware of your true identity.

Your lawyer will then be able to proceed with filing the case papers, without your name being mentioned, with the court and immediately after, apply for an emergency injunction, to prevent publication of your name in connection with the blackmail matter.

Can the police protect your identity as a victim of blackmail

Not always. It cannot be guaranteed that your identity, or details of blackmail will remain a secret if you go to the police for her. Furthermore, if you report the blackmail to the police, it is likely that the police will ask to see your mobile phone, WhatsApp messages and other private information from your mobile telephone. The problem is, you might not want strangers to have unsupervised access to your private communications.

Also, once you report the blackmail to the police, the information will be taken out of your control. You will now know who and how many people will have access the information. If you are famous or a person who is in the public eye, this could be a real issue for you.

How quickly can a solicitor obtain a blackmail injunction

An experienced solicitor can obtain an injunction to protect you from blackmail, very quickly, in most cases, within a couple of days and in urgent instances, this could be done immediately, even on a weekend, as an emergency injunction application