Today in really creepy news... Sextortion

If you didn’t feel convinced to use strong passwords and solid security questions, hopefully this will do the job.

Apparently, 27 year-old California man Karen “Gary” Kazaryan hacked into the social media accounts of over 350 women and then blackmailed them into getting naked online.

Apparently, Gary would strike up conversations with women over the Facebook or instant messenger and gather information like home addresses, relative’s names – all the stuff you’d need to answer a security question and reset someone’s password. Once inside, Gary would change the password for the account and search for naked pictures and other material the owner might not want made public.

Now here’s the part I can’t quite figure out.

“Once he controlled the accounts, Kazaryan searched emails or other files for naked or semi-naked pictures of the victims, as well as other information, such as passwords and the names of their friends,” prosecutors said in a press release. “Using that information, Kazaryan posed online as women, sent instant messages to their friends, and persuaded the friends to remove their clothing so that he could view and take pictures of them.” [New York Daily News]

Image courtesy: quickmeme.com

Protip: If your friend instant messages you and asks for naked pictures, DON’T SEND THEM.

Seriously. How does that even work?

Regardless of my disbelief, it apparently worked rather well since Gary had over 3,000 pictures of naked women – some as young as 16 – on his hard drive. Prosecutors say he targeted more than 350 women.

Gary was previously arrested for both drug possession and rape. Sounds like a classy guy.

Fortunately, Gary is facing a potential 105-year sentence, so with a little luck, he won’t be around to sextort anyone in the near future.