Maidstone RCMP officers received multiple reports of people being victimized in sexting scams between October and the end of the year.

The scams involve catfishing young males and teenage boys where a scammer entices the boys to send nude pictures of themselves, and then demands payment threatening that if they don’t the pictures will be released to the victim’s contacts.

RCMP advise the public that there are inherent risks in sending private or sensitive images online, because the recipient may not always be the only one who will view the content.

The advice is to remain vigilant when receiving unsolicited text messages.  Never provide personal or sensitive information to the requestor, and don’t send money to them even if the message sounds urgent.  Instead, call the police and report the crime immediately.