More and more young Saudi women are found involved in blackmailing men and extorting money, with some even boasting about their “successes,” thanks to social networking sites, dating apps and hacked smart phones.

This is the latest phenomenon haunting society, with local newspapers publishing stories about women blackmailers in the Kingdom almost daily. Local newspapers have also interviewed experts about their opinions on the best possible way to fight this problem.

Experts blame the lack of religious sentiments, bad friends, lack of monitoring by family, Internet and BlackBerry for the spread of this problem.

Legal expert Hadi Al-Yami said that blackmailing is when somebody gets something they don’t deserve by threatening someone else, or using their weak points or threatening to reveal information or secrets about them unless they respond to the blackmailer’s demands. He added that this can destroy a person.

Al-Yami stressed that the Article 3 of the Criminal Law states that whoever publishes an Internet recording with the intention of defaming others could be sentenced up to one year in jail, or fined up to SR500,000 or both.

He added that if the documentation process involves technical and professional skills then the punishment could be raised up to five years in prison and a fine up to SR3 million, whether the documentation was done by audio or video, and regardless of whether the person is known or not.

The Commission for Spreading Virtue and Preventing Vice last year established a special unit to counter women’s blackmail. The unit was established as a result of the increasing complaints in regards to this issue.

An official at the commission said it has dealt with 500 cases in the conservative Saudi community where citizens were subject to blackmail.