ULPT: Stranger on internet has me & my families information and is demanding money or he’ll “ruin my families life” How do I retaliate?
Posted by keepabunny@reddit | UnethicalLifeProTips | View on Reddit | 43 comments
I’m sorta freaking out, don’t know what to do. Is demanding $400 and I can not afford to give it up, what do I do?
Help_An_Irishman@reddit
Anyone remember that Black Mirror episode, "Shut Up and Dance?"
user-name-not-a-bot@reddit
Scam. Don’t pay.
keepabunny@reddit (OP)
He showed me my name, address and phone number, with a couple google searches you could easily find who you’re related to. I’m freaking out
user-name-not-a-bot@reddit
Still a scam. I get emails like this. I ignore them.
keepabunny@reddit (OP)
To give more information, we’ve been in a Discord server with each other for a long time. He’s a real person, I owed him $50 and I repaid, but claims his “paypal got hacked” From getting my payment on Paypal he has my full name. If you google my name, a bunch of sites with my information and close relatives information comes up.
blurbies22@reddit
If he’s threatening you for real I’d go to the police if you’re seriously worried. I know this is ULPT sub, but I’m a mom and that worries me.
Medium_War6594@reddit
Report to police Blackmail is a crime Doing it online makes it a cybercrime
Dexanth@reddit
Odds are his discord account got hacked, you are being contacted by the hacker, voila.
The reality is all that info is already out there. They likely bought a giant list of it and are using it to try to intimidate you. Block em and move on, because they wont follow through on it - they'r eafter money. Following through on the threat takes time away from threatening someone new to give them even more money.
Mfcmflem@reddit
$50 isn't even worth going to small claims court for! Dude is trying to scam you for more. You have proof that you paid him through PayPal, that's all you need. His problem is with PayPal now. What info he has is public information, nothing that could seriously hinder you. Block him and never look back.
Significant_Planter@reddit
If I was your friend on Facebook or even in the same group as you on Facebook I would probably get enough information to be able to find all that stuff with a few Google searches too. It's a scam. Just block him.
And don't give him a penny because if you give him even one cent he will constantly come back! Once you let them know you're a super easy target they will never give up! And when they finally figure that they're not going to get more from you, they'll sell your information to other people.
Do not give them anything or it will never stop!
keepabunny@reddit (OP)
Thank you man.
user-name-not-a-bot@reddit
You say you paid him the $50. Where is the $400 coming from? What is he going to do to ruin your family’s lives? I get ones saying they’ve seen what I’ve done on the internet and they want me to pay. They have passwords to my accounts. Well, yeah, they probably do have passwords but if they were useful, they would have already used them. They never explicitly state what I’ve done on the internet, they hope to use a sense of guilt to get themselves some blackmail. Fortunately I’m pretty sure there’s absolutely no information about me that would be blackmail worthy and also I have no relatives to whom I need to maintain secrets from. Are you completely certain this person has information to ruin lives? If so, report him to the police for attempted blackmail.
Medium_War6594@reddit
Police. Blackmail is illegal
No_Cranberry_7695@reddit
What are you hiding
CoolaidMike84@reddit
Block and move on.....
40mgmelatonindeep@reddit
Dont pay, ignore them and continue on with life, the only way this scam will harm you in a material way is if you give in, thats it. Be brave
poornegotiations@reddit
Lol $400
keepabunny@reddit (OP)
I don’t know what to do man, I don’t have that money to give.
poornegotiations@reddit
Don't worry about it. They're trying to scam you, anybody can have that info about you it's not that hard to obtain. If anything you can do a credit freeze
keepabunny@reddit (OP)
I’m more so worried about him contacting my parents and family members making up false claims. I am only 18 and my parents are strict. They’ll believe whatever they hear.
pirat314159265359@reddit
Did you send him nudes thinking it was a girl or something? You’re not telling the whole story.
LostInStatic@reddit
“Hey all, there’s this guy named _ ____ who I bought something from on Paypal, unfortunately I left a setting on where it lets the seller see the buyer’s name, and he’s trying to demand more money from me. If he contacts you just block him, thanks guys”
Travis_Maximus@reddit
Arrange a one on one meet in a private place and stab em in the neck with a piss-cicle. The evidence will melt and you will be good to go
ImReflexess@reddit
Block and don’t engage ever again just go ghost
theBoobMan@reddit
Dude, he literally threatens you in a verifiable way, and you're concerned because he has information that you can google? Ignore him and let him do something stupid so you can call the police and show them his threats.
keepabunny@reddit (OP)
This is all over Discord man, I don’t think the police could do much. Like I said above, I’m more worried about him contacting my relatives with false information.
OnionTruck@reddit
Report him to Discord mods.
Dangerous_Figure5063@reddit
Look into OSINIT….
theBoobMan@reddit
And your response would be to show them the discord messages.
krakn-slayr@reddit
This. Discord messages still have an IP address attached, and the police can press to get that information if they want it
z_3454_pfk@reddit
Bro I feel you and I get that you're scared asf. You're prob from a ethnic minority background (i'm guessing?) and are worried shitless if your parents find out and it's scary asf. Prob feels like the world is ending and you got mad anxiety from it.
Lemme tell you this guy is prob not gonna do anything, but I get these discord freaks can weird asf. I think block him, you have his PayPal e-mail, do you have any info on him? What was the $50 for btw? But yeah he probably won't do anything. He defo won't ruin you or your parents' life. Just remember the guy on the other side of the screen probably has nothing irl so he's trying to flex his power on discord.
keepabunny@reddit (OP)
He’s done this before, him and a few other people will get someone’s identity and just terrorize their family with racist remarks and spam. I could see just telling them to block him but he’ll use and make multiple text free numbers. I just don’t even want to deal with any of this because I’m in such a tough spot in my life right now. The $50 was for a giveaway. (Stupid me). I’m penny pinching right now and then this hits me. I can’t
z_3454_pfk@reddit
Bruh it seems like you're going through it and having this shit is defo not helping either. Seems like it pushed you over the edge. I'm real sorry bro. Tell me more about what's going on so we can figure out the best way forward. When you sent the money to his paypal did any other info come up? Ik ur prob going thru a lot rn and if it helps my dms open
keepabunny@reddit (OP)
sent you a message, thanks man.
devinstated1@reddit
Why do you care and what are you concerned about? If your information is publicly available then who gives a fuck what their rando knows. Invite him over for tea and crumpets for fuck's sake.
Significant_Planter@reddit
What kind of information could he possibly have?
keepabunny@reddit (OP)
Me and my families full name, address, phone number. Having those could lead to finding more.
prombloodd@reddit
Call their bluff.
Slartibartfastthe2nd@reddit
either ignore them completely, or tell them to F### OFF.
Kinda_Constipated@reddit
Don't be a push over. You should send him a strongly worded cease and desist letter stating that your debt has been repaid to the account he provided and show your receipt. What happened to his account is his problem. Then threaten him with severe legal action should he attempt to extort you again (save the evidence). If he is in another state, then it becomes felony. Using interstate communications to demand money or ransom can result in up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine. Let him know that any further communications will be referred to the FBI as it is now a federal crime and will be used as evidence.
Retrofiddle@reddit
Dont pay. He will ask for more money in the future. Tell him u dont have the money then block him
finnlord@reddit
If you don't pay, his options are to do what he has threatened and not receive $400, or just give up and not receive $400.
If you did somehow pay him, he could take the $400 and leave, he could take the $400 and still do what he said he would do, or he could ask for more money.
so there's no change in his options if you did actually pay him. Certainly don't give him any money. Take screenshots of every threat. Sometimes being sent a collection of evidence of their actions will scare off a blackmailer. Unless this person is one of the greatest masterminds in the world, any actions taken against you will be traceable and lead back to him.
Witty_Candle_3448@reddit
Inform your family that this person is mad at you and trying to blackmail you into giving them money. Warn your family and tell them to ignore the blackmailer.