So my story is very similar to many people in this subreddit and I’m amazed how many people this happens too. And I also want to say I got very lucky(knock on wood) compared to some other people but more on that later.

So it started like many others. Was chatting with this “girl” on a dating app and we switched it over to WhatsApp. She said she was into sexting and me being a guy was happy to comply. I got roped into sending some spicy pics and didn’t think anything of it. I had never even heard of sextortion. I of course can recognize a bot on tinder and never go to a random link but this was an entirely new world to me.

Any way, the next day, as I’m on vacation nonetheless, my phone starts blowing up from this girl and she giving me the speech of I’ll release your photos and has a bunch of Facebook profiles pulled up of people she’ll send it too. I panic and start trying to send her the money so she’ll delete them (I know now to never do that) first tried cash app but that didn’t work. Then tried Apple Pay and that didn’t work. I was trying to convince her to let me use venmo cause I know that works but thank god that never happened cause I got friends on venmo. My first stroke of luck. I eventually leave what I’m doing and go to an atm to get cash to take to one of the bitcoin atms. I send it to her and tell her to delete it now. She says she needs to confirm it, this is how The business works and to be patient.

The next morning my phone blows up saying I only sent 400 (thanks bitcoin conversion rate) and I still owed money. At this point I knew it was never going to end so I started ghosting them. I did all the things you should do. I deactivated my Facebook, deleted my Instagram and even changed my phone number which I’m surprised more people don’t do. It literally took me two minutes and isn’t that big of a deal telling people you got a new number. I have no idea how what app works and if they show your actual number.

Like many of you here I was freaking out they would send out the pics to the list of people and and first glance I recognized some last names, mine included but didn’t actually know any of these people. I figured they were friends of friends and these people were trying to do as much damage as possible hence why I payed. This is where the second stroke of luck happened.

Let’s say for privacy reason that my name is homer j Simpson but on all my social media I don’t go by that because my parents are divorced and my mom tacked her last name groening onto mine after the divorce so I always go by Homer Jay on social. Well the scammers of course don’t know that and found a different Homer Simpson on Facebook and just assumed it was me. Still not sure how they knew the Simpson part to begin with but I ain’t complaining.

I definitely learned a valuable lesson, payed for my mistakes and won’t be going on dating sites anytime soon. It does get better and just remember you are the victim here. I am someone who thinks about suicide often just as a passing though but not once during this time did I think that. Maybe because I didn’t know anyone n the list or because I relaxed I was the victim here but it’s not the end of the world. Just learn and move on the best you can. Take comfort you’re not the first and you won’t be the last.