A HAMPSHIRE teen has opened up about his experiences of modern cybercrime sextortion.

This comes as Hampshire police launch a campaign to raise awareness of sextortion, which is a form of blackmail.

Victims are lured into performing sexual acts in a front of webcam or a camera on a smartphone.

They are unaware their actions are being recorded by criminals who then use the video footage to blackmail individuals.

And one Hampshire teen has decided to tell other of his experience.

Gary, which is not his real name, said he worked night shifts alone and “had no social life”.

He decided to go online to meet people and tried different dating websites.

Gary said: “This made me happier. I felt better.

“One of the people I'd been talking to suggested I go onto Skype.

“I'd been talking to them for a while so I thought why not?

“They seemed persistent, which in hindsight was the first warning sign.

“At the time I was going with it.”

He said they exchanged messages frequently and he was asked for his Facebook profile and picture.

She then invited him to talk on Skype and although she was half way across the room, she looked ‘similar’ to her profile picture.

The woman asked him to show more of himself and his face before sending messages demanding money and threatening to post the pictures on social media.

He added: “I offered to go to the bank but went to the police instead.

“I was trembling throughout the whole thing, shaking and thinking 'what's going to happen?'

“This will ruin my life and did not know what to do.

“If this video is released onto Facebook, what would I do?

“I thought about suicide, it would have been too embarrassing.

“I would not have been able to face anyone.

“But I went to the police, and kept her talking by saying I was at the bank.

“Messages came through abusing me and saying 'I will keep doing it'.

“The police officers handled it well.

“They stopped and helped me through it.

“They made me feel better.

“I needed to talk to someone.

“Since then I've tried to put it to the back of my mind, and I've moved on with my life.

“There is always life afterwards.

“But I would not be here today if I had not spoken to anyone.”

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Gelman, Hampshire Constabulary’s senior lead officer on preventing cybercrime and protecting its victims, said: “Sextortion is a crime that involves the deception, manipulation and intimidation of someone with distressing and devastating effects.

"The consequences can be as severe as suicide and self-harm.

“Victims we know about already are mainly young men aged between 17 and 23.

"Younger men do not always have the emotional strength to cope with blackmail.

"Therefore, a key purpose of our campaigning is to give more victims the confidence to confide in police about any situations or threats they’ve encountered.”

If sextortion has affected you, contact police by phoning 101 and in a life-threatening emergency, dial 999.