How to Get Rid of Blackmailers

Cindy Ellis - June 27, 2024

For most people, dealing with blackmail can be a terrifying and overwhelming experience. While the internet has brought us a lot of great things in recent years, it’s also made it easier for people to blackmail and carry out cyberattacks.

Whether it’s in the form of phishing emails, compromised social media accounts, or ransomware locking your important files, online blackmail can leave you feeling helpless and vulnerable.

The very first thing you need to do is inform law enforcement agencies because they take these types of crimes seriously. There are a couple of other things you need to do after that to make sure you’re protected and the situation doesn’t escalate further.

In this article, you are going to learn how to get rid of blackmailers so you can regain control over your privacy.

What to Do When You’re Being Blackmailed

Trying to deal with a blackmailer yourself can be very risky. In most cases, it’ll just lead to more demands and threats. There’s a series of steps you should follow to handle the situation. Below, we have explained what you should do when you’re being blackmailed by someone.

Inform the Police

Contacting law enforcement agencies should be your first step when you’re being blackmailed by someone. Notify your local police department as soon as possible so trained professionals can step in and handle the situation for you.

When notifying the police, you’ll be asked to provide evidence. This can be in the form of screenshots of emails, messages, or any other communications from the blackmailer. Make sure you include all relevant details, such as timestamps, email addresses, and usernames.

The more details you provide, the better equipped the police will be to investigate and help you out.

Refrain from engaging with the blackmailer and giving in to their demands, as that will just compromise your safety.

Set Your Social Media Profiles to Private

Once the police have been notified, it’s time to check how secure your social media accounts and other online platforms are. Change all your passwords immediately and enable two-factor authentication (2FA). Use strong, unique passwords that no one can easily guess.  

This will prevent the blackmailer from gaining access to your accounts and help secure your personal information.

Check your privacy settings to make sure no personal information of yours is available for the public to see. For example, Facebook allows people to add their phone numbers to their account and if they’re not set to private, anyone can see them.

Find Out How Much of Your Information Is Publicly Available

Once you have secured all your social media accounts, it’s time to find out how much of your personal information is publicly available. There are multiple ways to do this. Start by using a reverse people lookup tool to search for your name and see what information is easily accessible.

A reverse people lookup tool will give you lots of information about yourself that might be publicly available, including past addresses, phone numbers, and even relatives’ names. This can help you identify and remove any sensitive information that you don’t want others to access. These tools can be very useful as they collect data from public records, so it’s possible that whatever information you see on them can be accessed by the blackmailer.

Another way to find out what information of yours is publicly available is to search for your name, phone number, or email address on Google. This simple search can reveal a surprising amount of information, including social media profiles (if you haven’t made them private yet), public records, and news articles.

Search for variations of your name or any usernames you commonly use online to see what comes up. If you find any sensitive information, take immediate steps to remove or at least restrict access to it.

It’s important to be thorough in your search because you want to make sure the blackmailer can’t access any more data of yours than they already have.

Seek Professional Legal Help

Blackmail is a felony in many states. In Virginia, for example, any person who “extorts money, property, or pecuniary benefit” is committing a Class 5 felony.

That’s why we recommend consulting with a lawyer who specializes in cyber law. They will be able to help you get rid of your personal information that’s available on the internet and guide you through the legal process of dealing with the blackmailer.

They might even be able to help you file a lawsuit against the blackmailer so you can be compensated for any damages (emotional or financial) caused. If blackmail is a felony in your state, the person responsible could face hefty fines or even end up behind bars.

How to Prevent Blackmail in the Future

To steer clear of future blackmail attempts, it’s important that you increase your online security and keep yourself updated with the latest security measures and best practices.

Phishing is a common tactic used by cybercriminals to manipulate people into giving up personal and sensitive information such as passwords and credit card details. If you receive an email from someone asking you to provide personal information, use a reverse email lookup tool to find out the identity of the sender. If it’s a scam, then  report it as spam even if it looks like it came from a legitimate source.

If you frequently download apps from third-party sources, then make sure you install antivirus software on your device to keep yourself safe from malware, viruses, and other types of online threats.

Regularly monitor your online presence. Use a reverse people lookup tool to see how much of your information is available on the internet and how easy it is to access it. Google information about yourself to see what comes up in the results, and if you see anything you’d rather keep private, adjust your privacy settings.

Keep Your Online Presence Safe

The internet can be a scary place if you’re not careful. Cybercriminals are always trying to come up with new methods to steal people’s personal information. The best way to keep yourself safe from blackmailers is to educate yourself on the tactics they use to get their hands on people’s data.

If you’re currently dealing with a blackmailer, then the first thing you need to do is tell the police. They have trained professionals who can help you deal with the situation. Make sure all your social media accounts are set to private so the blackmailer can’t access any more of your personal information, and use a reverse people lookup tool to see how much of your data is publicly available.

Remove anything you don’t want accessible to the public and install antivirus software on your computer to protect yourself from malware and viruses. Dealing with a cybercriminal can be scary, but with the right tools and resources, you can keep your data safe.