1,978 cases of blackmail in 3 years

The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice registered 1,978 blackmail cases in the past three years, local media said quoting a Haia official.
The majority of blackmailing cases were attributed to the widespread use of social networking sites and other mobile applications, a local daily quoted Haia spokesman Turki Al-Shilail as saying.
Other cases of blackmailing originated from random phone calls, mobile phone repair shops which copy contents or video scripts found in mobile phones, family consultancy centers and online marriage bureaus, Al-Shilail added. He said most blackmailers are men. However, the crime has been taking different forms in recent years due to the development and multiplicity of means of communication.
In terms of age groups, 32 percent of blackmailing cases fall in the age group of 16-20 years, 30 percent in 21-25 years, 7 percent in 31-35 years, 4 percent in 36-40 years, 2 percent for girls under 15 years, while another 2 percent was reserved for women over 41 years who face blackmailing, the source said.