LinkedIn blackmail against attorneys can reach beyond a law firm. One lawyer I worked with ignored the first threats. The blackmailer responded by making unsavory reports to the Bar Association. The lawyer paid, and the demands got harder.
I’m Frank M. Ahearn, The Blackmail Fixer. When an attorney faces this kind of threat, I can take over the communication, stall the payment demands, and work to prevent exposure.
The Lawyer Ignored the First Threats
At first, he did not give the blackmailer what they wanted.
Then the reports to the Bar Association got his attention. He quickly paid.
That payment did not end the problem. The blackmailer demanded more.
I am telling you what happened in this case because the threat moved beyond a private message. The blackmailer found another way to put pressure on someone whose career mattered deeply to him.
Why Attorneys Feel the Pressure
Lawyers spend years building a practice and earning trust. When a blackmailer threatens exposure, the fear may involve the firm, partners, clients, and the professional standing the attorney worked to build.
LinkedIn can show a blackmailer where a lawyer works and how that lawyer is connected to other professionals. Once the blackmailer starts naming people or organizations, the victim may feel that paying is the fastest way to keep the matter private.
That is what happened to the lawyer who contacted me. He paid after the Bar Association reports, but the demands became harder.
For a broader look at professional exposure threats, read LinkedIn Blackmail Help for Executives and Professionals.
Paying Did Not Settle It
A blackmailer who receives money still has the material and information used to make the first demand. In this lawyer’s case, payment was followed by more pressure.
That is why I focus on dealing with the person making the threat. My method involves stalling payment demands: a promise that money may be available, a delay when it is not, and another promise. It takes continued work. The purpose is to create time while I handle the communication and work to prevent exposure.
I discuss why money does not necessarily bring control in Money Buys Comfort. It Never Buys Control.
Knowing the Law Does Not Mean You Know Blackmail
An attorney knows how to handle legal problems. An active blackmailer is a person applying pressure through threats, deadlines, and demands.
Over the years, I have learned that a cease and desist letter is not my answer to a blackmail threat. I deal with the person and the information they are using.
When I accept a case, I work to move the communication onto a contact I control. I take over as the client when possible. I stall the demands, look at what the blackmailer knows, protect information they have not found, and use disinformation when it fits the situation.
You step away from the messages. I face the blackmailer.
Why Attorneys Call Me
I began as a skip tracer in 1984. Finding people taught me how a name can lead to an employer, an address, relatives, and professional connections. Later, I reversed that work and began helping people protect their identities.
Today I am an extreme privacy expert, public speaker, The Blackmail Fixer, and the New York Times bestselling author of How to Disappear. I work directly with clients facing private threats. There is no assistant or call center between you and me.
My Blackmail Help page explains how I take over. If you need a book while you consider your next move, read Blackmail Survival Manual: 10 Rules Before You Pay or Panic.
Get Help Before Another Demand
If a blackmailer has named your firm, partners, clients, or Bar Association, tell me what they have done and what they are demanding now. If you have already paid, tell me what changed afterward.
The lawyer in this case paid, and the demands got harder. You do not have to keep handling the blackmailer yourself.
Contact Frank M. Ahearn. I take over to prevent exposure.