Date: July 6, 2018Share

On Line Scam Tricks Residents

Files: 2018 - 779139/ 785975

St. Albert, AB - In the past month, St. Albert RCMP have received two separate reports that residents have been convinced to share nude pictures or videos of themselves with an on-line acquaintance through Facebook and Instagram. The acquaintance, who was using a fake name and account, then threatened to share these images unless the two residents wired the acquaintance money. The residents reported the matter to the RCMP.

While these two cases led to dead ends for the RCMP investigation, the best solution to this type of crime is prevention. "Once images are released to someone on-line, there is no way to completely remove those images from the internet." says Cpl. Laurel Kading with the St. Albert RCMP. "So refusing to send nude images or videos is the only true way to protect yourself from this type of abuse."

On www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca, the RCMP have posted the Top 10 Cyber Crime Prevention Tips. Number three states:

Be Social-Media Savvy - Make sure your social networking profiles (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MSN, etc.) are set to private. Check your security settings. Be careful what information you post online. Once it is on the Internet, it is there forever!

If you have information about this crime OR ANY OTHER CRIMINAL OFFENCE and would like to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), online at p3tips.com, or with the P3 Tips app. Crime Stoppers does not collect information about your identity. A tip leading to an arrest may be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.

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