Fears over a spate of ‘sextortion’ scams in Bute and Cowal have been revealed by police in a report to a council committee.
Officers have stated that the process, involving explicit images and videos being shared, is “almost wholly” targeted to men under the age of 30.
Police have now asked the public to tell them of any such offence taking place locally, along with any ideas of how to help anybody affected.
The details are given in a report to go before a meeting of Argyll and Bute Council’s Bute and Cowal community planning group on Tuesday, October 31.
A police spokesperson said in the report: “Sextortion is sexual extortion. It involves the threat of having sexual information, photos or videos shared.
“This is done to get money from the victim, to control behaviour or to pressure them for further images.
“Many sextortions start with seemingly harmless flirting on social media or dating sites. Criminals are experts at creating fake profiles that appear genuine.
“Flirtatious conversations quickly turn sexual and the victim is actively encouraged to remove clothing, perform a sexual act on camera or share explicit images.
“These images and videos are often recorded without the victim’s knowledge and then used to hold them to ransom. The criminals will often have already accessed your social media contacts and will threaten to share these images with them unless you comply with their demands.”
The spokesperson added: “As young males are being told their images will be shared with everyone they know, this is having an impact on their mental health, with victims often feeling embarrassed and ashamed they are often keeping themselves isolated rather than reporting to police and reaching our for support.
“Police Scotland would encourage everyone to share awareness around this either through social media, newsletters or in conversation with young males you know.
“If any members have ideas or suggestions on how we can help education young males on the risk involved with this type of offence, please get in touch.”