Police are warning the public about a new online scam involving the online video calling programme Skype.

So far, six people have complained to Manukau police over the last month of being blackmailed after carrying out 'intimate activities” during a Skype call, with people they met via the application.

Photo: File.

The blackmailer would then use footage they had recorded of the victims to try and extort money from them.

The victims so far are all males who were talking to people based overseas.

'People need to take extreme care when talking to people they don't know online,” says Detective Senior Sergeant Eddie Sutherland, 'and consider that anything communicated visually via the internet or mobile phone could potentially be published online.

People should not engage in any activity on the internet that they want kept private as they will make themselves targets for blackmail attempts, he adds.

'Keep personal information private, don't respond to messages from people you don't know and don't post revealing pictures of yourself online,” says Eddie.

'If you do get yourself into a situation like this, then please report it to police.”

Police are also seeing more people putting themselves into dangerous situations when using other social media websites and apps, says Eddie.

'Often these victims will meet up with someone they have met online, only to end up being assaulted and robbed,” he explains. 'Often people are targeted through lesser-known sites including tagged.com, badoo.com and sayhi.com.

'Be aware that online profiles may be fake.”

If you are going to meet up with someone you met online then make sure someone knows what your plans are, and arrange to text them at set times, says Eddie.

'Meet in a public place and leave if you feel uncomfortable,” he advises.

'If something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. We want our community to stay safe and that means taking extreme caution online.”