{"id":627313,"date":"2026-10-11T12:20:36","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T12:20:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/627313\/"},"modified":"2026-10-11T12:20:36","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T12:20:36","slug":"man-took-his-own-life-after-sextortion-blackmail-coroner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/627313\/","title":{"rendered":"Man took his own life after \u2018sextortion\u2019 blackmail \u2014 coroner"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article deals with the subject of suicide and may be distressing for some people.<\/p>\n

About three years since a Christchurch teenager took his own life when he was blackmailed online, another NZ man\u00a0has suffered a similar fate after he became the victim of\u00a0a \u201csextortion\u201d scam.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The distressed man sent the blackmailers money and took his own life later that day.<\/p>\n

The 41-year-old\u2019s suicide in 2024 has prompted a coroner to issue a warning and advice about what to do if caught in such a scam.<\/p>\n

It\u00a0comes after a Christchurch 18-year-old took his own life just hours after he was sexually extorted in 2023 under\u00a0similar circumstances. Despite the teen\u2019s\u00a0reluctance, he exchanged intimate images with a woman on Facebook\u00a0who he thought was from Timaru.<\/p>\n

But after doing so, she demanded he\u00a0pay $5000 or she would share the images with his contacts. In reality, she didn\u2019t exist, and the account was\u00a0traced back to West Africa.<\/p>\n

The Auckland man died in 2024 within hours of making contact with someone online who identified themselves as \u201cDonna Chase\u201d.<\/p>\n

He\u00a0also exchanged messages and images of a sexual nature with \u201cDonna\u201d, and she immediately began blackmailing him.<\/p>\n

Police do not believe Donna Chase existed, but that she was an AI-generated persona used to trick the man into sharing sexually explicit images.<\/p>\n

Police told Coroner Janet Anderson they believed the bank account the man paid money into was associated with an organised criminal network based overseas.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no doubt that the actions of \u2018Donna\u2019 were the primary relevant factor in [his] death,\u201d Coroner Anderson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe deliberately solicited images of a sexual nature \u2026 and then used these to blackmail him. This is a practice known as \u2018sextortion\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man died \u201cwithin hours\u201d of his first communication with Donna, the coroner said.<\/p>\n

In a published summary, Coroner Anderson said the man was under stress when he died.<\/p>\n

A relative had died six months earlier, he was struggling with a relationship break-up, was on medical leave from work and had financial issues.<\/p>\n

The man had told a relative he was finding it hard to get out of bed and had occasionally made references to being \u201cbetter off dead\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, he had no significant history of mental health problems and no record of self-harm.<\/p>\n

He had been due to return to work on the day he died.<\/p>\n

That morning he sent \u201cfarewell messages\u201d to his family, who went to check on him and found him dead.<\/p>\n

The man\u2019s wife later gained access to the Signal secure messaging account that had been installed on his phone.<\/p>\n

She found images and messages shared with \u201cDonna Chase\u201d.<\/p>\n

After the images were sent, \u201cDonna\u201d immediately threatened to send them to the man\u2019s contacts and demanded money, via bank account transfer and codes for pre-paid Steam gift cards.<\/p>\n

The summary said the man handed money over, but did not specify how much.<\/p>\n

The exchanges with Donna, which included voice calls, ended with a final message from the man at 10.09am on the day he died.<\/p>\n

The coroner said it was reasonable to conclude the man was in a highly emotional and vulnerable state when he ended his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis actions would have been impulsive and taken in direct response to the difficult and stressful situation he found himself in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Man\u2019s suicide a second \u2018sextortion\u2019 case <\/p>\n

The man\u2019s suicide was the second involving a sextortion attempt before the Coroner\u2019s Court this year.<\/p>\n

The 18-year-old Christchurch man who had dreams of becoming a policeman took his own life just hours after he was sexually extorted online in 2023.<\/p>\n

The teenager met a person on Facebook. She\u00a0called herself Laura Wilson\u00a0and wanted to exchange intimate images.<\/p>\n

He had no way of knowing he was talking to a scammer in West Africa who then threatened to share the teen\u2019s videos with all his contacts if he didn\u2019t pay $5000.<\/p>\n

The online safety organisation Netsafe advised Coroner Anderson that sextortion is a serious global issue and the scammers are highly organised professional criminals who can be based anywhere.<\/p>\n

She said the\u00a0man\u2019s tragic death showed \u201cthe harm inflicted by those who engage in sextortion activities goes beyond extreme emotional distress and financial loss\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this case, it led to the senseless loss of a father, partner and friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Police advice for people caught in a sextortion scam is to pay nothing, to shut down all social media and contact Netsafe for further advice.<\/p>\n

Netsafe has also published a step-by-step guide on how to deal with sextortion on its website.<\/p>\n

Netsafe\u2019s advice for people subject to sextortion <\/p>\n

Don\u2019t give in to demands<\/p>\n

The most important thing is not to give in to the blackmailer\u2019s demands or share more pictures or videos. If you do, they are more likely to continue asking for more money or content. If you have already given them money \u2014 do not give them more. Even if you have given money, the remaining steps can still help.<\/p>\n

Get evidence<\/p>\n

If possible, take screenshots of the threats, but don\u2019t take pictures of the private images or videos. Note down the blackmailer\u2019s account name and where this is happening online.<\/p>\n

Let others know<\/p>\n

It might be helpful to write a message for your friends and family, letting them know that someone is trying to scam you (you don\u2019t have to go into detail about what has happened) and ask them not to accept message requests from unknown accounts online.<\/p>\n

Report to the platform<\/p>\n

Report to the social media platform (e.g. Instagram, Snapchat, PornHub) where the scammer contacted you. Give them all the information you can. If your content is shared we also recommend you report to that platform.<\/p>\n

Cut off contact<\/p>\n

Stop talking to the blackmailer and block them on all platforms.<\/p>\n

The scammer will focus on the people they believe will most likely pay them or send more content. The scammer will \u2018drop\u2019 others very quickly who block the scammer and refuse to contact them, so it is very important that all contact from them is blocked immediately.<\/p>\n

Secure social media accounts<\/p>\n

Ensure all your social media accounts are as private as possible or deactivate them temporarily.<\/p>\n

Keep an eye out<\/p>\n

Ask someone you trust to help by keeping an eye on social media activity for you. This can help keep you informed and give you a break from social media if you need it.<\/p>\n

Get the content hashed for removal<\/p>\n

If you are under 18, and if you have copies of the private images or videos the blackmailer is threatening you with, you can use a free tool called Take It Down.<\/p>\n

Take It Down creates a special code or digital fingerprint from the pictures or videos, and it shares that code with online platforms that may help to find and remove them from being shared online. The tool can also be used for synthetic images (deep fakes), which deals with it in the same way as genuine content.<\/p>\n

If you are 18 or older you can use StopNCII.<\/p>\n

StopNCII will generate a digital fingerprint, called a hash, of the images\/videos on your device. STOPNCII shares the hash with Industry Partners so they can try to help detect and remove the images\/videos from being shared online. StopNCII.org also accepts synthetic images (deep fakes) and deals with them in the same way as genuine content.<\/p>\n

Where to get help: <\/p>\n

If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111<\/p>\n

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