FTC Alleges Sextortion Protection Firms Deceived Customers

At least $60 million: that is the sum the Federal Trade Commission says customers paid to a web of so‑called sextortion protection businesses that the agency now calls a serial fraud operation.

The FTC lawsuit against Dmitry Belkin and 12 companies

Earlier this month the Federal Trade Commission filed a federal lawsuit in Ohio against Dmitry Belkin and 12 of his businesses, alleging unfair and deceptive trade practices under the Federal Trade Act and violations of the Telemarketing Sales Rule since at least 2020. The complaint says the majority of Belkin’s companies — using names such as Digital Forensics Corp., 1st All Data Recovery and Remote Backup Corp. — promoted services to people targeted by romance or “sextortion” scams on sites including BlackmailHelpline.com and DigitalForensics.com. The FTC says those sites were routinely advertised on Google, YouTube, X and other platforms when users searched for help with sextortion attacks.

In plain language the agency accuses the businesses of taking in “at least $60 million” while failing to deliver the protective services they promised. “Defendants falsely portray themselves as digital forensics experts, claiming they can track and identify sextortionists, prevent the spread of explicit material, and coordinate with law enforcement to bring criminals to justice,” the FTC’s complaint states.

The sales pitch: “Phase 1” and “Phase 2” packages

The companies sold a two‑phase model, the complaint says. Customers were first pitched a “Phase 1” bundle — priced between $1,499 and $20,000 — that was described as “stopping” an ongoing attack, handling communications with the sextortionist, tracing the attacker’s location, sending a legal cease‑and‑desist letter, and reporting evidence to law enforcement.

But the FTC alleges the promised work was mostly theater: rather than tracing attackers, Belkin’s firms allegedly used the customer’s account to communicate with the scammer and then changed account settings to block the scammer. They allegedly fabricated chat transcripts to convince customers a threat had eased and relied on pre‑saved geolocation coordinates to feign an identifying trace. After Phase 1 purchases, the complaint says, the companies pressured many customers into expensive “Phase 2” monitoring services — advertised to detect and prevent future attacks — that “do not perform any of these services either.”

The complaint also quotes defendants as telling victims that law enforcement would not help, and that contacting the police was “the last thing you want to do.”

Telemarketing script and emotional exploitation

The FTC describes a telemarketing script that Belkin allegedly drafted for employees to use on vulnerable callers, designed to exploit fear and anxiety about nude images being made public. Employees were reportedly required to fill out a form after each call confirming they had used specific keywords or phrases such as “pedophile,” “devastating consequences,” “life altering” and “no coming back after this.”

At one point the script, according to the complaint, warns agents: “I’ve seen these situations ruin people’s retirement all from the accusation of being a child predator.” The companies also asked seemingly unrelated personal questions — whether a marriage was “on the rocks,” whether the caller had cheated, or whether they had young children that could “mean a custody battle” — leveraging those answers to increase pressure to buy services.

Refunds, fake reviews and alleged concealment tactics

The complaint charges that the companies routinely denied hundreds of refund requests and took active steps to prevent or drown out negative reviews. Customers were directed to a fake version of the Better Business Bureau’s website controlled by Belkin to submit complaints, while the actual Better Business Bureau page for Digital Forensics Corp. still lists numerous complaints from customers alleging fraud.

The FTC cites customer statements to illustrate the pattern: one complaint filed in August says the customer signed a contract in 2023 “out of sheer panic and fear” and continued making payments because “they had my personal information and would contact me if I didn’t pay.” Another review from June describes being “pressured” into a contract in 2024, being told the account could not be closed, and being forced to continue monthly payments. The companies are also accused of flooding their own sites with fake positive reviews, offering partial refunds paired with non‑disparagement agreements to induce customers to remove negative reviews, and even hiring Uber drivers to post staged testimonials and photographs.

Requests for comment sent to Belkin’s attorney and his personal LinkedIn account were not returned, the report says.

How victims, online advertisers, and regulators are affected

• Victims: According to the FTC complaint, consumers paid at least $60 million and in many cases were pressured into ongoing payments, denied refunds, and given fabricated evidence that an attack had been resolved.
• Online advertisers and platforms: The firms’ sites “were routinely advertised on Google, YouTube, X and other sites” when users sought help, raising questions about how such advertisements reached people already in crisis.
• Regulators and law enforcement: The FTC is asking a court to force the owner of the multiple businesses from further operations and has brought claims under the Federal Trade Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule over alleged deceptive and abusive telemarketing acts dating back to at least 2020.

The FTC’s complaint lays out a portfolio of alleged tactics — high‑pressure sales, fabricated evidence, and review manipulation — tied to a sizable financial take. The coming court proceedings in Ohio will determine whether the agency can win the relief it seeks, including an order to halt operations by Dmitry Belkin and his companies and to address the alleged consumer losses.

https://cyberscoop.com/ftc-lawsuit-dmitry-belkin-sextortion-fraud/