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A local university is warning its students about reports of sextortion incidents occurring on campus.
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The University of Dayton shared in a campus-wide email on Wednesday that the UD Department of Public Safety is investigating two reports of stalking via sextortion that occurred on Tuesday, Sept. 9, in Stuart Hall, a first-year dormitory on campus.
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Sextortion is a form of sexual exploitation that is typically carried out through social media apps and online games, according to the university.
University officials said that the reported incidents followed the “typical pattern of sextortion,” where students receive a request on social media or a game platform to add someone they do not personally know.
“Those who engage in sextortion adopt a fake persona that would be attractive to the potential victim to increase the likelihood of being added as a friend,” the email to students said. “Once added, the sextortionist will chat with the potential victim and eventually ask to exchange explicit images.”
If the victim sends the images, the sextortionist then threatens to send the images to others, typically the victim’s followers/friends, administrators at their university, their employer, or family members, unless the victim sends the sextortionist money.
Stalking via sextortion refers to situations where the offender’s threats or demands escalate to ongoing harassment, monitoring, or intimidation online, creating a persistent sense of fear or pressure for the victim.
“It is not uncommon for the sextortionist to use publicly available information to threaten the victim,” the email said.
The university is asking anyone with information about the reported incidents or those who have experienced similar incidents to contact the UD Department of Public Safety at 937-229-2121.
You can find more information about sextortion here.
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