Blackmail is a phenomenon that can be found more often in movies than in real life, and many people only have an idea about it from movies. However, for the most part, the “cinematic” interpretation is close to the truth.
Unfortunately, in real life no one is immune from being a victim of a blackmailer, and if you happen to encounter this, you need to understand how to act correctly in such a situation. How is blackmail defined at the legislative level, and what to do if you are blackmailed? Let's sort it out in order.
Blackmail in the Criminal Code
There is no special article for blackmail in the Criminal Code; as such, blackmail is not a separate crime and is most often considered by lawyers under Article 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Extortion”.
However, if extortion is an illegal way to demand money from a victim, then blackmail in legal practice is defined as a method of committing another crime, in most cases extortion, which is expressed in the form of a threat to commit any undesirable actions for the blackmailed person that are not related to threats of violence or murder.
That is, if a person is threatened with beating or murder, this cannot be considered blackmail; it falls under the corresponding article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on threats.
Thus, legally, blackmail is equivalent to extortion. The punishment for this offense can be imprisonment for a term of up to four years and a fine of up to 80 thousand rubles if there are no aggravating circumstances, but if they exist, then the punishment can be from seven to fifteen years and a fine of up to a million rubles .
What action plan should I propose?
If a friend has already turned to you for help, this solves one of the main problems - her acceptance. Come up with a plan by which she can break up with this person. Assess the risks, check whether she is in danger, whether she will suffer physically if she announces the breakup. Make a list of options for where she can live until things calm down, whether she can take a vacation or find a good therapist. Consider going to free counseling or a support group where other women's experiences can help you make the right choice.
Types of blackmail
There are several main types of blackmail, but regardless of the severity of a particular type, they all pose a danger both to an individual and to society as a whole.
Emotional blackmail
In essence, emotional blackmail is a certain way of manipulating a person, and it is more likely of a psychological nature than legal.
Almost every person has encountered this form of blackmail; most often it is used against you by people close to you, and it is expressed in the form of the condition “if... then...”.
There is no criminal punishment for such manifestations of blackmail, but we must not forget that emotional blackmail can easily develop into a more serious form, which may subsequently entail a legal solution to the problem.
Blackmail from friends
This is an unpleasant situation. But often the role of the blackmailer is a person familiar to the victim: colleagues, neighbors, casual acquaintances, etc. Such a crime is easier to solve because the identity of the suspect does not need to be identified, unlike the situation when blackmail is carried out anonymously.
Blackmail on someone else's behalf
The most common type of blackmail. It is dangerous because you do not know who exactly is blackmailing you. This type is often found on the Internet.
Social networks are generally a favorite place for blackmailers; if you have access to your personal account, it costs nothing for a criminal to take possession of any confidential information that you did not intend to share with the public, and then blackmail you by making this information public.
Political blackmail
This type of blackmail is especially common today. It can be public or private, and most often is not associated with the manipulation of a particular person, but with the desire to achieve something from the community that he represents. Such blackmail can be fraught with a variety of consequences.
Social danger
Of course, blackmail is dangerous. Its main danger lies, first of all, in the fact that it corrupts society.
More and more people, having felt the taste of easy money, are trying to get their hands on it.
Another dangerous consequence of blackmail is the violation of the moral peace of citizens. After all, every unfulfilled demand of the blackmailer threatens family discord and other not the most pleasant consequences.
The most important social consequence is the decomposition of a person’s personality and pressure on his psyche. After such an incident, people become withdrawn and not sociable. They stop moving in society and withdraw into themselves.
After the dissemination or threat of dissemination of unpleasant facts about him, a person begins to think that everyone around him knows or, at least, guesses, points and laughs. Such behavior leads to all kinds of mental illness.
In some cases, blackmail leads to suicide.
The incident in Ryazan will remain in the memory of local citizens for a long time. A sixteen-year-old girl met a group of guys somewhat older than herself. As is usual with girls, I fell in love with the most unhinged hooligan of all.
The lifestyle of her chosen one seemed romantic to her, but in reality it consisted of daily assaults in dark alleys for the purpose of robbery, and then drunkenness.
At one of the drunken parties, the girl drank too much, and in the morning she was looking at too explicit photos on her boyfriend’s phone.
The young man grinned disgustingly and stated that he demanded a certain amount every week in exchange for the photos not being published.
Love didn’t work out, but it turned out to be a very instructive story, the main character of which, fearing the punishment of her parents and the condemnation of everyone around her, began to regularly steal money from her loved ones and give it to her boyfriend.
When the relatives realized where the money was going and demanded an explanation, the girl completely withdrew into herself. Threats that the payment deadline had come and there were no funds followed immediately. After being between two fires for a couple of days and not finding the right solution, the girl swallowed sleeping pills. It was not possible to save her.
The photo was never seen, but the unlucky blackmailer was charged with incitement to suicide.
How to recognize blackmail and how to behave
What signs can you use to determine that you are being blackmailed? Moreover, we are now talking not about everyday blackmail, but about a criminal offense. In fact, this is quite simple and does not need much comment.
If a certain person contacts you directly or through anonymous calls/messages and claims that he has certain, materially provable information that discredits you, which he is willing to keep secret in exchange for money or other material assets, or services, then you are definitely facing blackmailer.
Such actions already show signs of a crime under Article 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. However, what should you do if you are being blackmailed?
What to do? The first and most important rule is not to panic. The blackmailer is very interested in getting some benefit from you, therefore, he will not make public the information he has an hour after he made a statement to you. This means that you have time to properly think about the current situation and make a decision.
The biggest mistake that victims of a blackmailer often make is making concessions to him. As soon as the criminal realizes that you are afraid and consider the threat to be real, he begins to gain momentum and demand more and more. Also, there is no need to try to come to an agreement with him; a person who has already decided to blackmail is unlikely to make concessions.
Another common mistake is trying to deal with the blackmailer yourself by using force . This is a crime, and it will be punished in accordance with the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, so it is better to act using legal methods.
From the point of view of legal experts, there are two options for how to deal with a blackmailer. The first one is to contact the police. But be prepared for the fact that when you contact law enforcement agencies, you will have to provide the information for which you are being blackmailed. If these data do not contradict the law, you have nothing to fear, feel free to submit an application.
You must attach to your application the available
evidence that you are actually being blackmailed. This could be an audio recording of a telephone call, a printout of correspondence with the blackmailer, or a video recording of a conversation with him.
If there are witnesses, this should also be indicated; they can help bring the criminal to justice. Also in the application you must record all the information that you know about the blackmailer: name, address, place of work, phone number, etc.
Most often, a police officer is offered to catch a blackmailer red-handed. That is, you agree to its terms, make an appointment, which takes place under police control, and after the amount of money is transferred to the suspect, he is detained.
There is another option on how to get rid of the blackmailer. You can try to collect counter-incriminating evidence against him. This method is suitable if for some reason you cannot or do not want to contact the police.
You can act independently or involve certain specialists in the process. For example, a professional detective. As soon as the incriminating evidence has been collected, invite the blackmailer to start a dialogue again, but this time on mutually beneficial terms. At this stage, you can also involve a specialist - a mediator, who resolves disputes privately, without the participation of third parties.
On the importance of maintaining personnel records
Another problem is the initiative of employees to terminate the employment contract on such grounds as agreement of the parties - instead of filing a letter of resignation of their own free will. In the agreement to terminate the employment contract, employees propose to indicate significant monetary compensation.
Otherwise, the employee will report to the competent authorities about existing violations on the part of the employer in terms of the absence in the organization of numerous documents established by the Labor Code: local regulations, personal cards, additional agreements to employment contracts, books and journals of documentation, staffing tables, worker accounting records time, vacation schedules, shift schedules, documents regulating the protection of personal data of workers, permits for the right to attract foreign labor, labor protection, special assessment of working conditions, fire-technical minimum, electrical safety, civil defense and emergency situations, military registration, as well as orders on personnel, instructions and much more.
Thus, entrusting the primary organization of personnel records management of a legal entity or subsequent audit to external expert specialists, and involving them in the process of resolving the existing conflict situation with the employee before the date of his actual dismissal, is an effective measure in the matter of countering “extremism of employees.”
Responsibility
As mentioned earlier, there is no special article for blackmail in the Criminal Code; it is included in the crime under Article 163 “Extortion”.
The crime scheme looks like this:
- there is an object, it can be absolutely any person or group of persons;
- subject - directly the extortionist or blackmailer, can be one person or a whole group;
- the objective side, most often it is money, less often services or some kind of property; with blackmail there may be coercion to sexual intercourse or some kind of action;
- the subjective side is the presentation of demands, personally or anonymously.
The blackmailer may threaten with violence or murder (in this case the classification of the crime changes), damage or destruction of property, or dissemination of confidential information. The punishment of the perpetrator will depend on the specific situation, on what signs of crimes will be discovered in addition to extortion.
According to Article 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, a blackmailer can receive up to 4 years in prison and a fine of up to 80 thousand rubles if he acted alone, but if the crime was committed by a group of persons on a large scale, then participants in an organized criminal group can receive up to 15 years imprisonment and a fine of up to one million rubles.
The defendant will not be held liable for blackmail alone, but it may be included in other crimes - extortion, threats, slander, coercion into sexual relations, etc. Punishment, therefore, will be assigned based on the totality of proven crimes.
