An unidentified man who presented himself as a woman online has been arrested for allegedly blackmailing a woman with her own personal photos. The man posed as a woman on an online messenger service to chat with the woman. “She didn't really understand he was setting her up,” her husband told the police, Al-Riyadh newspaper reported. As the two continued to chat online, the man was able to hack her personal email and retrieve her saved private photos, the husband also said. Once in his possession, the man used photo software to modify the woman's photos and manipulate them to look nude. He then started to blackmail her for large sums of money. If not paid, the man threatened to publish her photos online, Dammam police said. Following leads to the man, the police arrested him. Col. Abdulaziz Al-Suliman, deputy spokesman for Dammam police, said that they had already opened an investigation in the case. As the number of Internet users in the Kingdom climbed to 6.2 million as of March this year, the government has issued a new information technology law controlling the use of technology for terrorism, fraud, pornography, defamation, violating religious values and disregarding public etiquette and values. A maximum penalty of three years and a SR500,000 fine will be issed to anyone found guilty of financial or data fraud, or found guilty of attacking the private life of another person. The penalty is increased to a total of ten years in jail and a SR5 million fine for people found guilty of running websites supporting terrorist organizations. __
