THOUSANDS of people are falling for a scam in which crooks threaten to share a video of their victim visiting adult websites.

West Mercia Police, the force that serves Herefordshire, says 9,473 emails linked to sextortion were reported last month, with just over 200 reports made to Action Fraud in the last week alone.

Action Fraud is the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime.

Sextortion scams are a type of attack in which people are coerced to pay a ransom after being threatened with humiliation. Payments are usually demanded in Bitcoins, a digital currency.

Action Fraud's advice is:

• Do not reply or click on any of the links in the email. You can report the email to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk/report-phishing.

• Don’t be tempted to make the payment. Doing so may encourage more scams as the fraudster will know they have a ‘willing customer’.

• If you have made the payment, you should report it to the police by calling 101.

• If the email includes a password you still use then change it immediately.

• For more information visit actionfraud.police.uk/sextortion