Miss Teen USA Reveals She Was Victimized in “Sextortion” Case

The Southern California teen says someone threatened to sell naked photos of her

The most recently crowned Miss Teen USA plans to use her national platform to raise awareness of cyber crimes, months after she said she was hacked and threatened.

Cassidy Wolf, 19, said she got an email from someone claiming he hacked into her computer's webcam to take naked photos of her -- and threatened to release them if she refused to pay him.

"I was cyber hacked and cyber terrorized about four months ago," said Wolf, a Southern California native.

An FBI investigation into her hacking incident is ongoing, Wolf said. But cyber hacking seems to be a growing problem. Just last month, Glendale resident Karen "Gary" Kazaryan pled guilty to hacking into the social media accounts of more than 300 women.

"I think the first thing to do is forgive yourself and understand it's not your fault," said Jack Lerner, a clinical associate law professor at the University of Southern California.

"This is a serious violation of someone's privacy and personal space," he said.

Lerner suggests Internet users to change passwords every few months, and to make them long and different for every account. People should also update software regularly and cover the webcam lens when it's not in use.

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