Maroon Weekly

How the information superhighway is being used to extort and coerce

By Ryan Stone

Anthony Stancl, former student at New Berlin Eisenhower in Wisconsin, is now under a new kind of curriculum after being sentenced to 15 years in prison for blackmailing fellow male students into performing sex acts with him. He pleaded no contest.

Stancl used Facebook to pose as a female student and then tricked his classmates into sending him nude pictures of themselves. Stancl then told them that he would make the pictures public if they did not comply with his request. At least seven students have come forth so far, and prosecutors are urging anyone else that may have been affected to come forward.

If this sounds isolated to you, keep reading.

On January 9^th, 2009, Steven Klig, a partner at Deloitte, which is one of the largest professional services companies in the world, was arrested for blackmailing his ex-lover with, you guessed it, nude photos and videos of the pair having sex. He sent her emails threatening to post the provocative media online should she not comply with his requests for more pictures and more video. Klig’s attempts were foiled when, rather than give in to demands, the woman in question went straight to the FBI. Agents responded to Klig’s emails, posing as his ex, and then arrested him in felony harassment and extortion charges.

In September 2008, Times Online reported from the UK that similar blackmail techniques are being used on children worldwide, not just high schoolers like Stancl’s classmates. Allegedly, predators will use threats to get children to activate their computer’s webcam and then coerce them further by claiming that a virus will destroy the computer if they do not comply. The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre reports that the age of the victims is getting lower while these incidents of exploitation continue to increase.

In 2003, Reuters reported from London that financial  blackmail was becoming more common online. Incidents involved messages that threatened to wipe hard drives or instant download child pornography to the recipient’s machine unless they paid a certain cash sum. Frightened employees would then deposit the requested amount, making themselves targets for additional harassment.

So, what can you do?

First, understand. It is easy to assume that everyone knows what computers are, how the internet operates, and the functions of social networking sites like Facebook. But this assumption covers up a nationwide general lack of knowledge and awareness about technology. A lot of caregivers and parents look confused when you tell them things like, “The Xbox Live has parental controls,” and, “Facebook has privacy settings.” People seem to think that technology simply works and that, if there’s bad stuff out there, it will find a way.

Websites like Thinkuknow try to combat this fatalistic thinking by raising awareness and general knowledge about these subjects by posting pages with such simple questions as: “What is a blog?” “What is a forum?” “What is an application?” As adults, it is easy to imagine that one can simply go to the police or FBI if someone is attempting blackmail, but children that simply do not know must be supported by parents and guardians that are willing to educate themselves. Even as an adult, additional knowledge will invariably help you online, too.

And, if you get the urge to send nude pictures of yourself to strangers, well…

Stay safe out there, cyberspace cadet.