Iraq detains 40 in crackdown on online extortion and defamation
Shafaq News – Baghdad
About 40 people accused of “online extortion and defamation” were arrested in Iraq after a three-month nationwide campaign launched in response to citizen complaints, the country’s National Security Service announced on Saturday.
In a statement, the Service said victims reported blackmail attempts involving demands for money in exchange for suppressing sensitive information, as well as deliberate online smear efforts targeting individuals across the country.
The agency added that authorities in Basra arrested a woman in Abu Al-Khasib district who operated the “Anti-Extortion Warrior” page and allegedly deceived victims by posing as someone able to hack extortionists’ accounts before exploiting their photos and videos, while in southern Iraq’s Muthanna province, security forces detained a man accused of demanding roughly 9 million Iraqi dinars (about $6,860) from a woman and attempting to collect further payments.
Online blackmail is among the most prevalent cybercrimes in Iraq, where perpetrators intimidate victims—often through social media—by threatening to leak private information to obtain financial or personal favors. The crime has become a major concern for Iraqi families, with women making up 70% of reported cases and men accounting for 30%, according to the Iraqi Ministry of Interior. Victims are primarily aged between 15 and 35.
Read more: The new blackmail in Iraq: AI and the exploitation of women
