The Federal Trade Commission says a company that promised to stop sextortion threats took at least $60 million from people already in crisis. The agency sued Digital Forensics Corporation LLC and its owner and CEO, Dmitry Belkin, in federal court in Ohio on October 13, alleging the firm charged sextortion victims between $1,499 and $20,000 for services it often did not perform. The FTC says a federal court has temporarily halted the defendants’ activities while the case goes forward. The claims are allegations in a complaint, and no judge has made findings.
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A two-phase package and a scripted pitch
“Digital Forensics preys on consumers already in crisis,” said Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. The complaint says the company sold a “Phase 1” package that promised to track the person behind the threats, communicate with that person, deliver an investigative report and report the case to police. The FTC alleges the company often did none of that, filled its reports with faked data and ignored its own refund policy. The commission voted 2-0 to authorize the lawsuit.
After the first payment, the FTC says, victims were pushed to buy a “Phase 2” package of monitoring and reporting services that also went undelivered. Customers were allegedly told not to block the people threatening them, advice the FTC says conflicts with FBI guidance. The FTC’s consumer alert names the company’s sites as BlackmailHelpline.com, DigitalForensics.com, CyberBlackmail911.com and SecurityBreach911.com, and says they charged customers thousands of dollars without delivering what was promised.
The pitch reached victims in two ways, the FTC alleges. Ads on Google, YouTube and X targeted people searching for help with sextortion, and telemarketers then used tailored scare tactics, including threats tied to military service and marriage, to close sales. The company also allegedly collected consumers’ financial information through false statements, which is why the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act appears among the laws cited, alongside the FTC Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule and the Reviews and Testimonials Rule. Victims in this case were reached through ads and phone calls, and phone numbers, addresses and emails are also what data brokers and people-search sites list; Incogni sends removal requests to those brokers for you and keeps re-sending them.
Fake reviews and eleven affiliated companies
The complaint also describes a review operation. The FTC alleges the company used staff in India to write fake reviews, bought reviews from people who never used its services, pressured customers to post reviews before they had received any service, and suppressed negative reviews. The Reviews and Testimonials Rule, which the FTC lists among the laws violated, is the rule aimed at exactly that conduct.
Belkin and Digital Forensics Corporation are joined in the suit by 11 affiliated companies, among them 1st All Data Recovery LLC, 1st All File Recovery USA Inc., Remote Backup Corp LLC and Digital Cyber Forensics Investigations LLC. The FTC’s case page lists the matter as FTC v. Digital Forensics Corporation, LLC, et al., civil action 1:26-cv-02615 in the Northern District of Ohio, and shows its status as pending. The complaint asks for a permanent injunction, a monetary judgment and other relief.
What the court has and has not ordered
The FTC’s filings include a request for an emergency order with an asset freeze, and the commission says the court has temporarily halted the defendants’ activities. The case page does not say whether the asset freeze was granted. A hearing on a preliminary injunction is the next step the filings point to, since the FTC also asked the court to order the defendants to show cause why one should not issue.
The two dollar figures in the case describe different things. The $60 million is the FTC’s figure for the least that consumers paid in total, and the $1,499 to $20,000 range is what the complaint says the Phase 1 package cost. The complaint seeks a monetary judgment, and the FTC’s announcement does not describe a refund process for victims, so what any of that money means for the people who paid depends on rulings that have not been issued.
Getting real help after sextortion threats
The FTC’s consumer alert on sextortion help lays out the steps that cost nothing. Do not pay the person making threats, and do not give that person access to devices or financial accounts. Stop communicating with the blackmailer. Report the perpetrator to local police and to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-225-5324. If a minor is involved, the alert points to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline, with a help line at 1-800-843-5678.
When intimate images have been shared without permission, the alert says the Take It Down Act requires online platforms to remove them within 48 hours of a request, at no charge, and that a platform that does not can be reported at TakeItDown.ftc.gov. For anyone considering a paid removal service, the alert advises searching the company’s name with words such as “scam,” “review” or “complaint” before paying and skipping the paid search results. The FTC alleges Digital Forensics bought ads on Google, YouTube and X aimed at victims.
Mufarrige’s description of the business, a firm that preys on consumers already in crisis, is now a claim a federal judge will test. The open items are whether the court extends the halt on the defendants’ activities, whether the $60 million becomes a judgment, and whether any of it returns to the people who paid between $1,499 and $20,000 for help that the FTC says did not come.
Scare calls reached people already in crisis
The FTC alleges the Phase 1 package cost $1,499 to $20,000, and that telemarketers closed sales with tailored scare tactics over the phone. Incogni asks data brokers and people-search sites to remove your personal information, sends the removal requests on your behalf and keeps re-sending them, and less personal data on broker lists can mean fewer scam calls, texts and emails. The status of each request shows in your Incogni account.
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This article was prepared with AI assistance from cited public sources and reviewed before publication.
