Risqué behavior by young men and women which includes flirting and sharing revealing photographs via popular social media websites and apps can lead to blackmail, according to a report in Al-Riyadh daily. Such incidents can have severe consequences for victims and their families. Saudi dailies have regularly reported stories involving men and women who, at a moment of weakness, send their photos to someone online only to end up being blackmailed or becoming embroiled in a sex scam. Many victims have tried to take their own life due to the social stigma attached to such behavior and the shame it could bring to their families. Al-Riyadh spoke to a number of young men and women who have fallen victims to such scams. Abdullah T. said he met a girl on a social media site who made him believe that she was disabled and wanted him to teach her how to acquire marketing skills so that she could find a job from home. "I fell for her like a fool and believed her and started to share my skills with her. After a while, I started to like her and she made me think she had similar feelings. Over time, I started to send her my photos while she sent me nothing. Then things developed and I sent some compromising photos of myself. That is when I found out she was a wolf in sheep's clothing," he said regrettably. Abdullah would soon find out that the girl was in fact a man who threatened to post his photos on social media websites unless Abdullah gave him an undisclosed sum of money. Beautiful words Noura Muhammad said some girls can easily fall prey to online blackmailers who can win them over with a few compliments. "I know a girl or two who had bitter experiences and had to go to the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Hai'a) to help them out of the pickle they got themselves into," Muhammad said. Like Abdullah, Abu Yasser G. met who he thought was a girl online but was really a man from an Arab country. Abu Yasser exchanged photos with him assuming that he was talking to a young woman. After the man threatened to post his photos online, he had to pay him SR25,000. "I have paid this blackmailer around SR25,000 and had to travel to meet him and give him the money in person. We reached an agreement and closed down our accounts on social media websites. I am still scared that he might ask for more money in the near future," he said. Psychological problems Ahmad Al-Oufi, a family counselor, said many young men and women lack self-control and surrender to their impulses without realizing the trouble they are getting themselves into. He also said people who use fake names and pose as girls on social media websites are sick and suffer from psychological problems. "Their victims will also develop psychological problems as a result of this bitter experience and some of them might end up seeing psychiatrists to help them cope with the aftermath of the experience. The technological revolution is a doubled-edge sword and should be used wisely," he said while calling on parents to monitor their children's online habits.
