A 23-year-old Traverse City man tells police he was blackmailed after sharing naked images of himself online.

The man received a Facebook friend request last week and Skyped with a woman while he exposed himself for 10 to 15 minutes, says Traverse City Police Department Interim Chief Jeff O’Brien.

Next, the man received a message from someone who demanded $150 paid to an African bank or the compromising video would be shared on YouTube. The man paid the hush money. The following day, on Thanksgiving, another message made the same request, but demanded $3,500. This time the man didn’t pay and went to police.

O’Brien says this kind of case is rarely solved but serves as a public service message for anyone who considers sharing private images online.

“The moral of this story is, ‘Don’t do that,’” O’Brien says. “The Internet is not private.”