ABHA: Many women refuse to resell their old smartphones and tabs for the fear of being blackmailed later.

Although security forces and the Haia swiftly move against any such attempts, women are still being subjected to harassment by con men, out to make illegal money.

Alia Al-Malki, a Saudi national, said she could have been subjected to blackmail after she sold her old phone. A woman called her to tell her that her photos were back on the device, she said.

“I thank God that I sold the phone to a friend I know, otherwise I would have been a blackmail victim. Now, I don't want to be under this threat. I won't put my phones up for sale.”

Abir Al-Omari says she doesn’t sell her old devices because she fears that phone sellers or new users could retrieve and abuse her data. “My friends and I am afraid of the data restoration programs that could be used against us,” she told Arab News.

Legal counselor Hadi Al-Yami said blackmail is a serious issue, stressing that there should be no room for leniency in this regard.

He added that in some cases blackmail happens at the domestic or professional level. “At the domestic level, the husband blackmails his wife in exchange for allowing her to work. On the professional level, bosses might blackmail their employees seeking training opportunities or promotions.”

He explained that a careful analysis of the legal, cultural, psychological and environmental aspects is necessary to find out what motivates one to resort to blackmail.

“Blackmail can happen in schools, homes, mosques and companies,” he pointed out, adding that the most reported design to blackmail women is through images or messages.

He said researchers are not able to see the severity of the problem because a lot of cases are not reported to the relevant authorities due to the victims' fear of their tormentors.

Abed Al-Salam Majid, an information security expert, said some people use smartphones without having enough information about technology, or they don't care a lot about online security.

He explained that some people inadvertently help hackers by keeping pictures in e-mails. “This makes it easier for a medium-level hacker to find old data,” he said.

He also warned people against opening unknown links.