It's only news to you. This kind of thing has been going on for a very long time. Law enforcement has at least gotten much better at tracking down the criminals involved. There are innumerable people who have refused such demands.
It's so common there are even specific terms for this kind of criminal activity. Do a search on "internet extortion and cyber stalking" for a short list of just a few thousand incidents, or even the friendly portmanteau: "Sextortion". There's even a wikipedia page on the subject, dating to 2009.
It's so common there are even specific terms for this kind of criminal activity. Do a search on "internet extortion and cyber stalking" for a short list of just a few thousand incidents, or even the friendly portmanteau: "Sextortion". There's even a wikipedia page on the subject, dating to 2009.