This is the effect that even if you were not interested in something at first, your liking and impression of it will increase if you are repeatedly exposed to a specific person in a short period of time. In the case of sextortion, it is said that the Zeigarnik effect is more likely to occur in DMs (one-on-one exchanges) on social media.

It is the psychology of getting someone to accept small requests first, then gradually make bigger requests, and finally get them to accept the desired request. For example, if you send a sexual image once, you will not be able to refuse the next time, and you may be asked for even more extreme images. This is also called "step-by-step requests."

The amygdala, a part of the brain, plays a major role in emotions such as excitement, fear, and anxiety. The amygdala plays a central role in controlling emotions, and when you are excited, adrenaline is secreted in the body, your breathing and heart rate speed up, and you sweat. This is to prepare for the "face or run" decision. In sextortion, feeling fear while sexually excited can lead to misjudgment of the brain.

To reduce feelings of guilt, people choose a passive solution. They tell themselves that paying the money will prevent the worst from happening, that it is the price of learning, and so they pay the money, believing that "paying the money" will make things easier for them.

If the other person has a weakness, you will not be able to accept the fact that it is a scam and will end up handing over the money as they ask. This psychological mechanism of trying to resolve the discomfort caused by cognitive dissonance distorts your judgment.

Financial sextortion is a method in which the victim first transfers a small amount (e.g., 20,000 yen) and then gradually increases the amount demanded. After the initial payment, the victim threatens to demand more money, saying that the footage is stored on a computer or cloud, or that the footage is also recorded on another smartphone. In this way, the victim ends up with a large amount of debt. Be careful.

When you receive an image from someone, you feel obligated to send an image in return. With sextortion, if someone sends you sexually explicit photos or strips off during a video call, you feel obligated to do the same.

Normalcy bias is a psychological reaction that makes people believe that "it's okay" even in a crisis situation. If this bias is strong during a disaster such as an earthquake, people may be late in escaping or responding, which can lead to greater damage. In the case of men who are victims of sextortion, there is a social background in which men do not believe that sexual photos or videos of men are threatening, and they are not aware that men can be victims, which can lead to panic when they are actually threatened.

When the countdown begins, "20 seconds left... 10 seconds left to spread," people lose the time to think, and they end up believing what the perpetrator says and acting accordingly. This is a common tactic in many types of fraud. The aim is to make people anxious and take away their ability to make decisions.

This is a method of "overcharging, then giving in a little." If they can't pay 200,000 yen, I'll forgive them for 20,000 yen. In the case of young people who are victims of sextortion, the amount can be reduced to create a situation where they cannot refuse. In other cases, they may create a loan that does not exist and draw them in as a community of interest (an organization whose goal is the survival and well-being of the organization itself or its members).

In financial sextortion, the other party threatens to spread information if the money is not paid. Even if the victim knows they are being deceived, they may end up paying more money out of fear that the money they have already paid will go to waste. This is the psychology of "loss aversion." Therefore, it is important to make a calm judgment.