Deleting LinkedIn does not stop blackmail when the blackmailer already knows who you are and where you work. If someone is threatening to send private photos to your employer or professional contacts, I can take over the communication, stall the demands, and work to prevent exposure.
I’m Frank M. Ahearn, The Blackmail Fixer. I want to tell you about an executive who thought blocking the blackmailer and deleting LinkedIn would make the threat disappear.
It did not.
He Blocked the Threat and Deleted LinkedIn
The executive contacted me after he had blocked the blackmailer. He believed cutting off contact and removing his LinkedIn profile would solve the problem.
I was blunt with him. It was an amateur move. He had made a decision about an active blackmail threat without understanding what the person already knew.
The photos involved a private fantasy. Exposure would bring negative attention to him and his company.
The blackmailer exposed him.
He lost his position.
That is what happened in this case. Deleting the profile did not take back the information the blackmailer had already found.
What Did the Blackmailer Know Before LinkedIn Disappeared?
By the time someone threatens your job through LinkedIn, they may already have your name, employer, position, and professional connections.
Closing your account does not erase information they have already collected. It also does not deal with the person making the threat.
Before you make a move, ask what they have shown you. Have they named your employer? Have they identified a coworker, client, or board member? Have they sent you a link or a screenshot?
Those details tell me what needs protecting. An empty LinkedIn page tells me very little about what the blackmailer still has.
For more on workplace exposure threats, read LinkedIn Blackmail Help for Executives and Professionals.
I Deal With the Person Behind the Threat
When I take over a blackmail case, I work to move the communication away from the client and onto a contact I control. I communicate as the client. The blackmailer believes they are still dealing with the person they threatened.
I stall the payment demands. I look at what they know about the client’s identity, employment, and contacts. When possible, I use disinformation to change what they believe.
My objective is preventing exposure. That means dealing with the blackmailer while protecting the people and information they are trying to reach.
The executive in this article contacted me after he had blocked the person. I cannot rewrite what happened to him. I can tell you why I would want to understand the threat before you make the same move.
Learn more about how I take over on The Blackmail Fixer page.
A Threat to Your Career Needs More Than a Deleted Account
An executive’s concern may be a manager, a client, business partners, or the board. A blackmailer only needs to find the contact they believe will put you under the most pressure.
I have written separately about a blackmailer threatening to contact the board of directors. This article is about the decision to delete LinkedIn after the threat has arrived. The question is whether the blackmailer already has the professional information they need.
Do not assume they do. Do not assume they do not. Look at what they have shown you, and get help with the threat itself.
Frank M. Ahearn
I began as a skip tracer in 1984. I found people through their addresses, work, relatives, records, and the connections they left behind. Later, I reversed that work and began helping people protect their identities and become difficult to find.
Today I use that background in blackmail cases. I am an extreme privacy expert, public speaker, The Blackmail Fixer, and the New York Times bestselling author of How to Disappear.
You deal directly with me. No assistants. No call center.
If you need a starting point while facing a threat, read my Blackmail Survival Manual: 10 Rules Before You Pay or Panic.
Before You Delete LinkedIn
Tell me what the blackmailer has, which professional contacts they have named, and when they expect a response or payment.
Deleting a profile may stop someone from viewing that page. It will not make the person threatening you go away.
Contact Frank M. Ahearn. I take over to prevent exposure.