THERE have been 253 cases of blackmail recorded in Northern Ireland this year.
More than one hundred of the cases reported this year were involving online sex scams.
The upsurge in offences of this nature in the last twelve months has prompted the PSNI to issue several public warnings regarding online safety.
The figures were disclosed to The Irish News through a freedom of information request to the PSNI.
Blackmail offences in Northern Ireland are legislated under the 1969 Theft act and include cases of extortion from businesses, which in the past was a common tactic for paramilitary gangs to obtain money.
Recently, however, online scams involving perpetrators obtaining privates pictures of individuals and demanding money not to publish them have spiralled.
In May, the Irish News revealed that the PSNI is receiving around three reports every week relating to blackmail of this nature.
In October, a 31-year-old man was charged in connection with the webcam blackmail of Co Tyrone teenager Ronan Hughes. The 17-year-old took his own life in 2015 after being tricked into posting private images of himself on social media.
Detective Chief Inspector Dougie Grant, head of the PSNI's cyber crime team, said they have seen a rise in the number of recent reports of online cyber enabled crime, such as webcam blackmail and ransomware, and are committed to tackling this issue and investigating all reports.
“Criminals should realise that committing crime online will not make them anonymous to law enforcement," he said.
"We are continuously working to track down and apprehend those seeking to utilise computers for criminal ends, and to disrupt the technical networks and infrastructures supporting international cybercrime.
“I would ask anyone who believes that they have been the victim of blackmail in any capacity to contact their local police station on the non-emergency number 101.”
Many of the profiles used in these kind of offences have been tracked as far afield as the Philippines and the Ivory Coast.
The scams predominantly target males aged from 25 to 40 online where they are contacted by social media profiles claiming to be that of attractive females.
