What is a Skype sex scam?

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There are some sex scams circulating on the internet, and they tend to have a predictable life cycle. That means they spike in popularity among cybercriminals and then slowly decline as authorities close in on certain cells. Or, the media exposes the latest incident that caused havoc.

But the problem is, They are like a nest of cockroaches – almost impossible to completely eliminate. They just retreat into the shadows and adjust themselves. Then they’re right back at it with any new platform, victim demographic, or update.

One of them is the Skype sex scam, also known as the Facebook sex scam.

What is the Skype Sex Scam?

It always starts the same way.

A man receives a friend request from a woman – sorry guys, this request is directed at you. It may not seem like a big deal at first glance, and is often passed off as someone you went to school with long ago, met at a big party, etc. The problem is…she’s just too hot.

The man accepted the friend request and then heard nothing from him for about a day.

Suddenly, he received a message from her.

Now, the story will be different depending on which country you are from. The BBC did an interview where a Palestinian man described his nightmare of being the victim of a Skype sex scam. The Lebanese “woman” on the other end of the line was in her 20s, both parents were orphaned, she had a strict sister, no job, and was very bored. And, when he asked about her hobbies, she immediately answered “sex”. She quickly made up the idea that this sexy babe liked to get naughty.

But no matter where the girl is from, there is always something in the story that justifies every element of the chat/story.

• There are always reasons to support “hobbies” – either an oppressive culture, a boring marriage, or just plain nymphomania.
• There is always a reason to exit the conversation at any time – such as a strict parent/sibling or a partner who may come home at any time.

One way or another, the conversation always moves on to the next stage.

The woman asks the man if he would like to turn on his webcam. The spark has been ignited and, of course, he wants to see her. She agrees and she is just as sexy in the video as in her profile pictures. There is no doubt that the man has an erection

However, she did not speak because she “didn’t want to get caught”. Before long, the conversation “turned her on” and she wanted to see the man’s penis.

He quickly pulled his hand away and asked to see her too. Back and forth, she finally came to the bed and started masturbating. During this intense sex, she asked to see his face because it also turned her on. Now, the scammers have a video of the man’s face while he was masturbating.

The girl had done it, and no doubt the boy had done it too.

The chat went on for a while longer and she asked him what he was doing. Suddenly she had to back out – you know, the strict parent/sibling or partner.

The victim will soon receive a new Skype or Facebook message exposing the scam. It’s always a guy on the other end of this message, and now he wants X amount of dollars, otherwise he will release the video to the public. This includes the victim’s family, friends or colleagues, whose lives will surely be ruined if they find out.

What did that guy from the BBC do?

The poor guy quickly deleted the Skype contact. But moments later, he received a WhatsApp message that read “Here I am” like an evil villain from a horror movie.

Blocking live video streaming can cost up to €5,000.

“I can’t afford it! I lied about having a good job just to impress girls. I’m just a pizza delivery guy. I’m not important at all,” and that brought the price down to $2,000.

Thankfully, the BBC man had a cool head and took a moment to think about what exactly was going on – and then it dawned on him that this moment was important for everyone.

Even if the video was sent to his contacts, it would end up in spam because the sender was not one of his contacts. Even if the video ended up in the inbox, no one in their right mind would open an email and video link from an unknown sender. So, he decided to take a chance.

“Post it. I don’t mind.”

beep.

It was a link to a YouTube video on WhatsApp, showing him masturbating. The perpetrators of the Skype sex scam kept their word. The BBC man probably felt his world fall apart, but he tried to stay calm and just reported the video over and over again. Meanwhile, the scammer was annoyed that the man wouldn’t pay. He abused and threatened the man, including sending the link to the video to the mother.

Eventually, YouTube removed the video.

Skype sex scam network

While these scams occur all over the world, a curiously large number of cybercriminals are based in Ouadi Zem, Morocco. It is one of the world’s “sextortion” capitals.

They scoured Facebook for any potential targets.

But what about the girl in the video? Well, this is where things start to get really interesting/creepy.

The video is just cam girl footage from a porn site.

The scammers memorize the videos so they know when the girl is typing and can then message the man on the other end. They ask the man to do all sorts of obscene things while making sure his private parts and face are shown at the same time in the video for a considerable period of time.

If things weren’t crazy enough, they also clocked it to a time formula.

20 minutes of chat time, 20 minutes of video time, and 20 minutes of uploading/extortion/threatening time. And, 99% of the time, the victim will pay the price.

According to one Oued Zem Skype sex scammer, it all comes down to finding the “right weakness.” Their easiest targets are Arabs, married men, or religious people. Even those who don’t look like they would be fooled will fall for it and often end up being victims.

The “business” is so brisk that entry-level workers can make hundreds of dollars a day. Shop owners are making so much money that entire towns are being transformed to accommodate the new wealth being dumped in. There are countless money transfer offices, and the shop owners are well aware that most of the money comes from extortion. People are transforming storefronts into shabby shops, trendy cafes, or anything that explains why this family is making so much money, driving around in fancy cars, etc.

Thankfully, our BBC crew realised that even if he paid, the scammer wouldn’t ask for more. Still, some men were willing to pay a large sum.

in conclusion

This is just one of many scams out there. But now you have enough knowledge to help you spot this scam right away!

Do you have anything else to add? Please share in the comments!