POLICE across Dorset are warning the public to remain cautious following reports of online 'sextortion'.

Sextortion is the process of receiving a friend request on social media or in an email from a stranger using fake profiles to persuade victims to perform sexual or otherwise compromising act while filming it.

Police said once these images are accessible to the criminal, the victim is blackmailed and threatened that the images or video will be shared with victim's friends and family.

A spokeswoman from Dorset Police said: "If you get a friend request on social media or in an email from someone you have never met before, be very cautious.

"Criminals befriend victims online by using a fake identity and then persuade them to perform sexual or otherwise compromising acts in front of their webcam or in a video message.

"The video is recorded by the criminals who then threaten to share it with the victim's friends and family, blackmailing the victim to pay them money to prevent this happening."

The attractive person in the video chat may have been coerced themselves."

For more, visit: www.dorset.police.uk