GLOUCESTERSHIRE Constabulary is warning members of the public to be on their guard after a fraudster tried to extort money from a victim in a 'sextortion' scam email.

On Christmas Eve the offender sent an email asking for 330 dollars to be transferred to them or compromising sexual footage of the victim would be sent to all of their email and social media contacts.

The sender claimed to be from Belarus and stated that they had recorded the victim through the camera on their computer.

Digital Intelligence Unit Detective Sergeant Sue Fereday said: "There is no suggestion perpetrators had any compromising footage of the victim and this is simply a ploy to scam the victim into handing over money.

"Thankfully in this case the victim didn't hand over any cash and told police straight away about the threats that had been made.

"If you find yourself in this scenario please contact police and do not hand over any money."

Next month Gloucestershire Constabulary will be raising awareness of incidents such as this as part of our Sextortion campaign.

Sextortion involves some sort of sharing of sexual images, videos or messages which are then used by the receiver to extort or blackmail the sender.

This is often done for financial gain but can also be used to exploit victims further.

Please report any suspected scams to the police by calling 101 or email 101@gloucestershire.police.uk.