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Police in the Philippines backed by Interpol have arrested 58 suspected members of a global "sextortion" syndicate that lured hundreds of victims worldwide into cybersex activities and then blackmailed them.
Police said in a joint press conference in Manila on Friday that the victims were enticed by people posing as young and attractive Asian females into exposing themselves or performing sexual acts, which were recorded and then sent to the victims' relatives and friends, unless the victims paid an extortion fee to criminals that usually ranged from from $500 to $2,000.
Authorities said the "sextortion" syndicates have collected millions of pesos (thousands of US dollars) from hundreds of victims in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United States and the United Kingdom over the last three to four years.
"There is a growing number of sextortion victims in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, United Kingdom and the United States with potential victims in Australia, Korea and Malaysia," said Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima.
Scottish police officer Gary Cunningham said a teenager in Scotland had committed suicide after being extorted.
More than 530 people in Hong Kong have fallen victim to the scam since the beginning of last year.
Police emphasized that the Philippines was not the hub of the global sextortion scams, though the current investigation was focused on the Philippines.
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