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- DictionaryBlack·mail/ˈblakˌmāl/
noun
- 1. the action, treated as a criminal offense, of demanding payment or another benefit from someone in return for not revealing compromising or damaging information about them: "they were acquitted of charges of blackmail"
verb
- 1. demand money or another benefit from (someone) in return for not revealing compromising or damaging information about them: "trying to blackmail him for $400,000"
Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat . As a criminal offence, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a threat to do something that would cause a person to suffer embarrassment or financial loss. [1]
State Blackmail Law Laws regarding blackmail vary widely from one state to another, but they all have similar definitions of the offense. Some states treat blackmail as a distinct criminal offense, while others treat it as a form of extortion or coercion. In Kansas, for example, blackmail is a crime against the person, rather than a theft ...
blackmail: [noun] a tribute anciently exacted on the Scottish border by plundering chiefs in exchange for immunity from pillage.
Difference Between Blackmail and Extortion. While some people use the terms interchangeably, there is a difference between blackmail and extortion. Whereas blackmail is a crime based on information, extortion is a crime based on force. Extortion, a type of theft, involves the threat of physical harm or destruction in order to obtain something ...
Federal Penalty for Blackmail. Federal law penalizes blackmail with up to one year in federal prison, a misdemeanor. (18 U.S.C. § 873 (2022).) Threats sent through the mail and other types of blackmail or extortion offenses carry much tougher penalties. For instance, extortion carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence. (18 U.S.C. § 1951 (2022).)
6. Notify the platform the blackmailer used. Some platforms will help you deal with a blackmailing threat. To do this, contact the customer support phone number or email for the platform you’re using. Provide the blackmailer’s username or email, and explain that they’re attempting to blackmail you. [6]
BLACKMAIL definition: 1. the act of getting money from people or forcing them to do something by threatening to tell a…. Learn more.
