FTC Sues Operator of Sextortion Relief Scheme for Misleading Consumers into Believing it Would Identify…

A federal court has granted the Federal Trade Commission’s request to temporarily halt the activities of Digital Forensics Corporation LLC and its CEO for allegedly defrauding consumers out of millions of dollars using false and deceptive promises relating to “sextortion assistance services.” Sextortion is a rapidly growing threat to Americans, routinely carried out by foreign scammers who threaten to publish a nude or sexual image of the victim unless the victim pays the criminal.

In a complaint the FTC alleges that Digital Forensics , along with its owner Dmitry Belkin and several affiliated companies, misled victims of sextortion into paying at least $60 million by falsely claiming that it would provide sextortion assistance services. “Digital Forensics preys on consumers already in crisis, exploiting victims of sextortion by using fear to pressure them into paying thousands of dollars for services that are never provided,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The FTC is committed to protecting consumers from sextortion and other crimes involving non-consensual intimate visual images. That includes taking action against companies that take advantage of consumers experiencing a crisis and engage in deceptive practices that prey on victims’ vulnerability and use abusive tactics that exacerbate the harm.”