There’s an email going around claiming several York students are being blackmailed

A university spokesperson has told The Tab they know nothing about an email sent this morning, claiming students were being blackmailed by fake Facebook accounts.

The email, sent by Student Support Services, claimed criminals were using fake social media accounts to trick students into engaging in sexually explicit video chats.

These were then filmed and the videos used as blackmail.

If true, it’s unclear whether more than one student has been affected. So far, attempts to confirm the allegations in the email with the university have been unsuccessful.

We contacted the Student Support Hub but they were unaware of the email. Peter Quinn, who supposedly sent the email, is currently on holiday.

We contacted YUSU who were unaware of the email.

We contacted the University of York press office who were also unaware of the email but are now looking into it.

We contacted the North Yorkshire Police department who had no report of any incident of this nature.

If the allegations are true, students are advised to exercise caution when speaking to strangers over the internet.

The email says: “Be wary of accepting friend requests from people you do not know and always think twice about sharing anything of a sexual nature through social media, calls or photos (even with people you know).”

“If you have experienced this kind of blackmail and are feeling distressed, please don’t suffer in silence. Staff in your college and in Student Support Services can help.”