recovery and reassurance

[CanILive]

I'm one week going strong from the initial blackmail sextortion. Following the advice and support of the website has done wonders for me. By saying this it doesn't mean the incident is over or I'm going to stop taking the advice. In fact I plan on keepin FB deactivated longer than the 2 week period because I feel more comfortable doing so. My point of this post is to express that when you follow these steps and don't hear back from the scammers and neither do your family or friends, there is still a bit of less stress in the back of your mind, but in just one week I am more at ease and think less and worry less of the incident each day. This is an incredible organization and all the steps should be taken seriously as it has been a strong support system for me. It is an organization that I certainly wish to donate to when I am financially stable and has pure values. Thank you admins of ScamSurvivors I am extremely grateful.

[SlapHappy]

Were are glad that you have settled down your fear, done the things necessary to protect yourself and others from the scammer, and understand why what we say makes sense and works. You can certainly stay off FB and your other accounts longer that our suggested minimum times; many have. Staying off FB longer has an added benefit. You have a far less chance of bashing your head into a light pole walking down the street while watching stupid dog videos on your smartphone.

[detdet882]

Figure I share since this forum is very helpful for all us of:

First Chatroulette, then gave my skype and added the person on f/b, then bam. A few sec later I got a message on skype. I was actually too hungover to fully read it, I just noticed something about blackmail and a list of 15 or so of my f/b contacts. Not sure if there was any video link or payment demands. I just blocked the person in skype to deal with it later and went back to sleep. When I checked my f/b a few hours later the person who added me as a friend was gone (I cannot remember the name since it was in the skype convo) but there was no notification that I had recently added any friends. I then changed my facebook url, removed profile photo and changed my name (this was before I knew about this forum). This was 3 days ago.

Day 2, aka yesterday, I found this forum and followed all the steps (removed f/b completely and all other social media accounts, deleted skype etc.). So far, this being day 3 there has been no attempts to contact me that I know of, but I also think this would be very hard since I changed or deleted EVERYTHING.

The one thing I did (and I am sorry if this is going against any of the steps) was to set up a VPN and create a new FB profile that had no relation to my previous one (meaning a nonsense name, new email etc.). I ONLY use this one to search for my real name once in a while to see if any fake profiles are being created (after 2-3 weeks I will delete it)

So I keep my fingers crossed, try not to stress out about it. On a larger scale this means NOTHING, we only live once and I will not waste any more time worrying about this. Good luck to the rest of you.

Btw I will check in again a few weeks from now, or earlier if any updates

[SlapHappy]

The one thing I did (and I am sorry if this is going against any of the steps) was to set up a VPN and create a new FB profile that had no relation to my previous one (meaning a nonsense name, new email etc.).

This part is at your own risk, Good luck.

[detdet882]

Okay, I deleted it as well

What is the point of taking the advice of you guys if not I am not following ALL the rules.

Again, thank you so much for this forum

[SlapHappy]

Well, after almost 4 years of dealing with blackmail scams/sextortion, 30 years total experience in dealing with all types of scams, all the media interviews and podcasts we have done over the years, and reading the almost 11,000 cases of blackmail alone here doesn't convince you we know what we are talking about, nothing will.

[detdet882]

Checking back after 15 days.

Heard nothing so far, just reactivated my f/b mostly to check if any messages or weird notifications (changed my user name, name and removed all photos and tightened privacy settings before I removed it). No messages or friend requests.

Someone close to me passed away suddenly during these 15 days, so have not thought much about this. But again big thanks for this forum. The only takeaway I can share is keep things in perspective, yes it will suck for a few weeks probably, but after that don't give these scammers even a second or a single worry

[gzilla00]

Thank you, i'm not sure if you started this site, but your the first to respond to me but this chat site if I may call this my new home, cause now I've been in most shoes here and I feel welcome here to help recover and hopefully help others recover.

[SlapHappy]

Wayne, firefly, and I started this site four years ago. I'm glad you feel at home here, as that will help your own recovery progress. However, your job is to get yourself back to real life as soon as possible. Hanging out here too long can cause it's own negative emotional fallout, so don't get too comfortable.

[asdcs1414]

More than 2 months...I still can't stop thinking about if they posted any1 on my f/b list...I had private settings but he/she coppied ppl who likes my profile pic...its about 7 person ...2 of them are close friend and scammer didn't send them anything as I know...but I worry for that:One of them has very very unique name/lastname and this combination is one in the f/b...and he doesn't like me for some reason...I asked him 1 month ago if any1 did send him anything with my name to him...he didn't answered my message...now at school some close friend of him looking me weird...I'm very depressed...He is not at same school with me but he have lots of friends , so if he want he can tell ppl...I think he did...

Is there any way to know?Can youtube tell me if I post e-mail telling my story if the scammer posted a private video?or is there a any way to know if there is a private video?