I thought I was having a secret, sext Facebook affair but it cost me £11K – my ‘lover' still hounds me three years on

The Irish Sun

4 days ago

WHEN Susan Green got a message through on Facebook complimenting her jewellery business, she thought nothing of it.
The 63-year-old said she and the man, who went by Vuitton David, immediately hit it off and struck up a conversation.
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Susan Green thought the conversation was innocent at first
Credit: SWNS
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But it soon turned sexual despite her being married, then he rlover blackmailed her for cash
Credit: Getty
Susan was selling jewellery on the social media site in November 2022 when she got the friend request from the man.
But she soon realised that his name was fake and it was all a ploy to hand over her money.
Now three years on, the sextortion scammer is still hounding Susan for money.
She says that within one month, the conversation turned sexual - after he started asking what her type was and what sex positions she liked.
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Susan - who is married to John, 40 - claims the man asked her to send nude photos, telling her if she didn't send them, he would leak their conversations.
After she sent him a naked photo, Susan claims he started blackmailing her for money, and told her if she didn't send it, he would leak her intimate photos.
Sextortion is a type of online blackmail in which criminals threaten to share sexual pictures, videos, or information about a person unless they pay money.
Over three years, Susan says she sent
the stranger
£40 to £65 at a time - which added up to £11,200 in total.
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In June 2025, Susan finally confessed what she had been going through to her family and they helped her contact the FBI, who are investigating.
Susan, a former jewellery business owner, from Schaumburg, Chicago,
Illinois
, said: "I feel relieved that I've been able to speak to my family.
"I'm speaking to a therapist - I feel so much better.
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Now Susan is warning others not to fall for their trap
Credit: SWNS
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"It is embarrassing, you never think that this will happen to you, but before you know it, you are in the middle of it.
"It is so hard to get out of the scam - they threaten you constantly.
"Every time my phone rang, every time my husband got a text, I was worried that something was happening."
In 2022, Susan was selling items online when she received a Facebook request from a man she didn't know.
The mum-of-two accepted the friend request and soon received a message from him asking her how she was.
She said: "It began with him asking how I was and he started saying my jewellery collection was beautiful.
"Then he started asking sexual questions, he would ask what I like to do during sex, what partners I pick, and what I would like to do with him."
Susan claims the stranger started asking her for sexual photos, which she refused to send at first, but insisted he threatened to leak their messages if she didn't.
Out of fear of her family finding out, Susan continued to send money to the person who was bribing her.
She said: "He said, 'unless you send me a picture, you can expect to see this on your Facebook page.'
"He would ask me for sexual photos, and I sent them to him. Then he threatened that he would publish them unless I sent him money."
Susan sent the first payment - which she says was for £40 - in November 2022. She says she would often send him small amounts, which he wasn't happy with.
The torment got so bad that Susan had to close down her online business in December 2022.
Susan said: "I sent him £40 in November just to keep him quiet and not leak our conversations.
"He said he wanted £375 a month indefinitely. I said there was no way I could do that.
"I bargained with him to make the amount smaller, but he kept asking for more.
"I would send him 0 to £60 at a time, it was sporadic - sometimes I wouldn't pay, but he got threatening."
In May 2025, he started messaging her again, but Susan stopped sending money and reported the case to the FBI to investigate.
Susan said: "When he started texting me a few weeks ago, he said he was going to ruin me and I would have nothing to say about it.
"The fact that he is still hounding me all these years later makes me think I won't be truly over with this until he is dead."
Last month, Susan told her husband and family that she had been a victim of a scam.
She said she feels "relieved" that her family know about it, as she would panic whenever her husband got a text or phone call, thinking it was from the scammer.
Susan said: "I was really afraid to tell my family, but they have been so supportive, and been there for me
"They told me to block him straight away. I can't let the torment carry on anymore.
"It is so hard when they threaten you constantly, you just do what is asked because you're scared of the consequences."
The FBI would not comment on the investigation.
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans for free on 116123.
What to do if you fall victim to a sextortion
Report it
Contact your local police station. The police will take your case seriously, will deal with it in confidence and will not judge you for being in this situation.
You should also report this to your internet service provider who will be able to preserve any evidence they have relating to the communications from the criminals and to the provider the recorded call was made on.
Victim under 18 years of age should, in coordination with a trusted adult if possible, report the crime to the CEOP, a government team dedicated to helping victims of child exploitation and furthering online protection for minors, in addition to your local police station.
Cut communications
Don't communicate further with the criminals.
Don't pay
Many victims who have paid in the belief that the perpetrators will fulfil their promise of deleting the recordings, instead continue to receive more demands for higher amounts of money from the perpetrators.
In some cases, even when the demands have been met the offenders will still go on to post the explicit videos. If you have already paid, check to see if the money has been collected. If it has, and if you are able, then make a note of where it was collected from.
If it hasn't, then you can cancel the payment - and the sooner you do that the better.
Preserve evidence
Take screenshots of all your communication. Make a note of all details provided by the offenders, for example; the Zoom/Google Teams name (particularly the ID if possible), the Facebook URL; the Western Union or MoneyGram Money Transfer Control Number (MTCN); the virtual currency payment details; any photos/videos that were sent, etc.
Importantly, do not delete any correspondence.
Block sharing
If you have a copy of the content -then you may be able to block it being shared on some platforms. For example,