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Cyberflashers Streaking Your iPhone

August 14, 2015

Flashers have been around for a long time, but it’s easy to get caught exposing yourself in public. Now these cyber creeps are at it over the Internet, whether you want it or not.

Police in England are on the trail of an unknown male who sent a female victim pictures of his genitalia. Not once, but twice.

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The disgusting cybercriminal exploited the woman’s Airdrop function on her iPhone that allows others to push a photo through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The man connected with her Apple gadget through Airdrop and proceeded to send her explicit photos.

When you send a photo over Airdrop, a tiny image called a thumbnail appears to let the person on the other end know what they’re downloading on their gear. It was no different in this case.

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She denied the first attempt thinking it was an off-base prank, but then she was sent another request to download the same image. That’s when she decided to get the police involved.

“So, I declined the image, instinctively, and another image appeared, at which [point] I realized someone nearby must be sending them, and that concerned me. I felt violated, it was a very unpleasant thing to have forced upon my screen,” the victim, Lorraine Crighton-Smith told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire program.

Since the notification was already gone after she denied the request, there is no physical or electronic evidence for the police to follow. But for local authorities, that isn’t enough. They are now dedicating a Mobile Crime Unit to investigating mobile phones and tracking data transfers.

So far, this type of cyberstreaking attack is the first of its kind. We’re hoping it stays that way. If you are victim of any such attack please let us know on our Facebook or Twitter page. Your comments or question could be chosen as our featured Money Question Monday and a phone call by financial expert Heather Wagenhals could dial your way to be live on the Unlock Your Wealth Radio Show.

Photo Credit: KimKomando.com