Experts Warn About Wyoming’s Troubling Blackmail Statistics

Breaking up is a hard thing to do. You've invested time and energy into the relationship, and it's just not going to work out. It's a bummer, but it happens, and you'll get over the pain.

Unless the person you're breaking up with is crazy and doesn't plan on letting your love die that easily. Then the pain and the uncomfortable situation keep going.

Wyomingites have had some interesting situations over the years that haven't been pleasant. A new study shows that Wyoming sits at #5 with ex-partner blackmail rates in the U.S, with 2.9 per million residents.

A representative from Ladah Injury & Car Accident Lawyers commented:

These high rates of blackmail, possibly involving intimate imagery, put both residents and their privacy at significant risk. Such tragic incidents not only result in devastating emotional trauma but also create lasting psychological damage for victims and their families. Digital relationships are meant to be built on trust. Still, the reality is that intimate image abuse remains a growing threat, particularly in states with higher rates of technology adoption and digital communication.

Since we don't even have a million residents, that's a fascinating figure. The state's 581,000 residents experienced an average of 1.3 ex-partner blackmail incidents yearly. 2022 was the worst year with three incidents, while 2019 and 2020 had zero incidents.

The research analyzed the data for ex-partner blackmail incidents from 2019 to 2024 for each U.S. state via the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Average incident rates per million residents were calculated to identify the states where Americans are most at risk of blackmail by former partners.

In Wyoming, photo blackmailing, also known as sextortion, is a serious crime and can come with the potential for severe consequences.

The following is from a memo in 2023 to the Joint Judiciary Committee from Senior Staff Attorney Brian Fuller:

Generally, "sextortion" occurs when an actor threatens another person to distribute the person's private and sensitive material unless the person provides the actor with additional sexual images, sexual favors, or money. The FBI characterizes sextortion as a "serious crime." Similarly, "revenge porn" generally refers to the distribution of private sexual images, regardless of whether the images were originally obtained with or without consent of the person in the images. In addition to revenge, the distribution may be motivated by a desire for profit, notoriety, entertainment, or no specific reason at all.

According to lawyers, reporting sextortion is essential for justice and keeping further incidents from happening.

To prevent sextortion from occurring, use the following strategies:

• Never share nudes or questionable photos.
• Schools and workplaces should have online safety seminars to keep everyone aware of the dangers.
• Monitor your minor children's device usage without invading their privacy.
• Enable privacy settings, avoid clicking suspicious links, and use networks cautiously