A person, whom I knew as Gilles Hassan, used a fake profile on Facebook to send me a friend request, posing as a woman. I accepted, and we began chatting; he claimed to be based in Maryland, USA. Our relationship evolved beyond friendship, as I was seeking a girlfriend, and love developed between us. However, during a romantic video call, he recorded me without my knowledge and later used the recording to blackmail me, threatening to publish the video unless I paid him money repeatedly. He also goes by another name, Bertine Akobatin.