The National Cyber Security Advisor and Head of the National Cyber Security Centre has advised the general public to desist from paying a ransom to blackmailers.

Dr Albert Antwi Bosiako said they should not entertain such blackmailers who come to them with the intention of taking down nude images or videos of them from the internet.

He told Samson Lardy Anyenini on The Law Sunday, that once a person complies to pay the ransom, that person is forced to continue paying.

"This is because once your naked videos or pictures get onto the internet it's gone forever. It is irreparable you can’t dig it out.”  

He added that when such contents are uploaded on the website, other websites automatically picks them up which are then downloaded by criminal groups.

Dr Bosiako said, once such images hits the internet the blackmailers will only take money for their victims and not go to removes such images as it would have left their hands.

He said they cannot go around and be telling the other websites and blogs that feed from the main site which picks the images or videos to pull them down.

According to him, nude images and videos posted on the internet causes those involved irreparable damage.

"People are not likely to get jobs in the future when this thing gets out there," he said.

Parliament recently passed a law forbidding the publishing of nudity and indecent images of children, sexual partners as blackmail.

Offenders will be fined a hefty amount of ¢30,000 to ¢60,000 or face five, 10 to 15 or 25 years in prison.