Should I block a blackmailer? My answer is no when the person is still demanding money and threatening exposure. Blocking stops the messages on your phone. It does not deal with the person holding your photos, messages, or private information.
Stall the payment demand instead. Tell them you need a few days to borrow the money. Then contact me.
I’m Frank M. Ahearn, The Blackmail Fixer. When I take over, I deal with the blackmailer as you. You step away from the messages while I handle the threat and work to prevent exposure.
Why You Want to Block Them
I understand the urge. Your phone keeps lighting up.
Pay now.
You have ten minutes.
I found your wife.
I’m sending everything.
You want the messages to stop, and blocking looks like a way to make that happen. But the question you need to ask is what the person can do after you block them.
Do they have your real name? Have they found your family or employer? Do they have another way to contact you? Blocking their account does not remove the information they already possess.
The messages may disappear from your screen while the threat remains.
Stall the Payment Instead
If the blackmailer wants money today, tell them you need time to borrow it from a friend.
Keep it short:
“I need to borrow the money. My friend can help me on Tuesday.”
You may get an angry reply. They may keep pushing the deadline. Hold to the stall.
The point is to give a person demanding money a reason to keep talking while you get your head together and find help. Do not use that time to explain your marriage, identify your employer, or tell the blackmailer which family member you fear they will contact.
I have used stalling in blackmail cases for years. It is often the first move I make before taking over the communication.
For broader guidance, read How to Stop Blackmail.
What I Do When I Take Over
When possible, I move the conversation away from your contact and onto one I control. I pose as you. The blackmailer thinks the person replying is still the victim.
I handle the messages and continue stalling the demand. I look at what the blackmailer knows about your identity and the people around you. If they have incorrect information, I do not correct it for them. When it fits the situation, I create disinformation.
My work is about more than stopping messages. I focus on preventing exposure to the people the blackmailer is threatening to reach.
You deal directly with me. No staff. No call center. No one passing your private situation around.
You can read more about my approach on my Blackmail Help page.
What If They Keep Messaging?
A stream of threats can wear you down. The blackmailer may send the same demand again and again because they want a reaction and a payment.
Do not mistake the number of messages for a change in what they know. Focus on what they have shown you and what they are demanding. Keep your reply about needing time to borrow the money. Then let me deal with the communication when I take over.
If the repeated messages are coming through WhatsApp, read WhatsApp Blackmail: They Won’t Stop Messaging.
Who Is Frank M. Ahearn?
I began as a skip tracer in 1984. My job was finding people through the connections in their lives: addresses, relatives, businesses, telephone numbers, and records.
Later, I reversed that work. I began helping people protect their identities and become difficult to find.
Today I am an extreme privacy expert, public speaker, The Blackmail Fixer, and the New York Times bestselling author of How to Disappear. I use that background when a blackmailer finds pieces of someone’s private life and turns them into a demand for money.
I wrote Blackmail Survival Manual: 10 Rules Before You Pay or Panic for people facing these first decisions.
Before You Block, Contact Me
If someone is threatening to expose you, tell me what they have, whom they have found, how much they want, and when they expect payment.
You can stall the demand now. You do not have to keep facing the messages yourself.
I take over to prevent exposure.