Moroccan Authorities Bust Cybercrime Ring Targeting Officials in Sextortion Scheme

It all started with the complaint of a civil servant from the Ministry of Transport to the Salé police, reports Assabah. In his statement, he indicated that he had been the victim of blackmail. The collaboration between the security services of Martil and Salé made it possible to arrest these cybercriminals, with the exception of the mastermind of the gang who is on the run.

Thanks to the investigations carried out in collaboration with the central services of the DGSN, the bank account of the mastermind of the gang was located. He is a repeat offender involved in the crimes of blackmail, fraud and threats, known to the security services of Agadir, Marrakech, Kénitra, Laâyoune, Errachidia, Séfrou, Casablanca, Khouribga and Tétouan. In addition to the arrested cybercriminals, the CID elements also seized a mobile phone containing 8 pornographic videos. They were sent to the digital analysis laboratory, with the authorization of the king’s prosecutor, to determine the identities of the other victims.

The collected data made it possible to arrest one of the defendants and his accomplice in Khouribga in July while he was in communication with the civil servant from the Ministry of Transport. To operate smoothly, the defendants had opened fictitious accounts on social networks. They used the photos of young girls as profile pictures before engaging in discussions.

Compromising videos or photos were obtained from their victims. They were later used to blackmail them. The trapped victim would pay the demanded lump sum, which was often recovered at money transfer agencies by the young girls. Pending the arrest of the gang leader, the other members of this extortion network were recently brought before the King’s Prosecutor.