He wanted a quick verification video and then turned cold

Blackmail · Instagram · United States

We started talking on Instagram in Los Angeles and he seemed easygoing enough. After a couple of days he asked if we could move to Telegram because he said Instagram notifications were unreliable. I agreed because nothing had felt especially strange yet.

Then he asked for a short video just to prove I was real. No nudity, no sexual tone, just my face, my voice and his name. I knew people asked for proof because fake accounts are everywhere, so at the time I did not think much of it.

Later he completely changed tone. He said he had saved the video and could send it to people connected to my work unless I gave him more content. That was the part that shook me. The verification had been the trap from the beginning.