The Anti-Cybercrime Group of the Philippine National Police (PNP) advised the public, particularly women, to refrain from recording intimate moments with partners amid the increase in the number of extortion activities relating to them.
Police Col. Jay Guillermo, head of the PNP-ACG Cyber Response Unit, said that from 279 cases from January to mid-November last year, the figure increased to 316 for the same period.
The latest incident, he said, involved a woman and her ex-boyfriend who demanded a meet-up in exchange for not spreading intimate photos and videos taken when they were still in a relationship.
The suspect, Guillermo said, was arrested in a hotel in Caloocan City on Monday night, Nov. 25. He is now facing cases of violation of Republic Act 9995, or the Photo and Video Voyeurism Act.
“We would like to advise the public not to record and save these intimate moments on digital devices,” said Guillermo.
A number of women already sought assistance from the PNP-ACG regarding the sextortion and extortion activities of their former partners.
Aside from former partners, there were also cases in the past wherein both male and female victims became victims of extortion after the recording of private moments were accessed by other people such as those in cellphone repair shops.
Another modus operandi that the PNP-ACG warned the public of is an invitation from social media users to engage in video call to perform lewd acts, not knowing that the videos were being recorded.
Based on the PNP-ACG data, the victims are usually from 16 to 40 years old. (Aaron Recuenco)