Online Encounter Turns Into $7,850 Sextortion Scam

FOUR OAKS, N.C. – What began as an online search for a relationship ended with a Four Oaks man losing $7,850 in an apparent sextortion scam.

The victim, in his 30s, told the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office the incident occurred earlier this month after he connected online with someone he believed was a woman interested in a relationship.

After the two began communicating, the person suggested they exchange nude photographs.

The man sent an explicit photo and, at the person’s request, also provided his home address. He reportedly believed the woman planned to travel to Four Oaks within a few days so they could meet in person.

Instead, the conversation quickly changed.

The victim received a message threatening to post his nude photograph online and share it with his family and friends unless he paid money.

Authorities said the man ultimately sent $7,850.

He has been unable to recover the money.

The Johnston County Sheriff’s Office is investigating.

The scheme matches what the FBI calls financially motivated sextortion, where scammers pose as someone else online, persuade a victim to provide explicit photographs or videos, and then demand money while threatening to distribute the material. The FBI warns that paying does not necessarily end the threats, and scammers may continue demanding additional money.

Authorities recommend several precautions when communicating with people online. Be cautious about sending intimate photographs to someone you have never met in person, and avoid providing personal information such as a home address. If someone threatens to distribute an intimate image, do not send additional money or images. Save messages and account information as evidence, block the account and report the incident to law enforcement and the platform involved.

Anyone who has already sent money to a scammer should contact the bank, card issuer or payment service as quickly as possible and ask whether the transaction can be stopped or reversed.

For adults concerned that an intimate image may be distributed online, the Federal Trade Commission also points victims to StopNCII.org, a free service designed to help limit the spread of nonconsensual intimate images on participating platforms.