Parkview police urge residents not to share private pictures on social media

Parkview police advised residents to be social media savvy and make sure their social networking profiles, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and MSN, among other social networks, were set to private.

This comes after a Parkview police investigation involving a case of extortion that was reported after a suspect started threatening the victim, asking for money and if he refused, private pictures would be sent to the victim’s friends and go viral.

The complainant alleged that on September 12, he received a friend request on Facebook from an unknown ‘woman’ and he accepted.

The suspect asked the complainant to send his contact number and they started communicating on WhatsApp. Thereafter, the ‘woman’ requested the victim to send her inappropriate pictures.

Later, the victim received a message from the suspect demanding money and threatening to ruin his life. The victim sent money numerous times until the bank reversed some of the transactions.

The victim pleaded with the suspect to delete the inappropriate pictures but the suspect demanded a gift. The victim discovered that the black mailer was not a woman but a man.

On October 11, the victim received another message from the suspect asking for money. The victim blocked the number and reported the case to the police.

“Parkview police would like to warn residents not to share private information through social media. Check your security settings and be careful what information you post online. Once it is on the internet, it is there forever,” said Parkview police spokesperson Tintswalo Sibeko.

“The police also advises residents to protect their e-identity by being cautious when giving out personal information, such as your name, address, phone number, or financial information on the internet.

“Make sure that websites are secure, for example, when making online purchases, or that you have enabled privacy settings when accessing or using social networking sites.”