SINGAPORE - A 30-year-old man has been arrested for attempting to blackmail a teenager with photographs of her committing indecent acts.

Police said they received a report about the alleged extortion on Thursday (Oct 15) at about 12.34 am.

A 19-year-old woman said that a man had contacted her via social media and offered her a job.

He convinced her to perform indecent acts in front of a webcam and took photographs of the acts without her knowledge.

The man is believed to have used these photographs to blackmail the victim for money, police said.

Officers established his identity and arrested him in Pasir Ris at about 11.15pm on the same day.

If convicted of attempted extortion, he could be jailed between two and five years, and caned.

Members of public are advised to be aware of such scams and to adopt the following measures:

*Exercise caution when befriending strangers on the Internet

* Do not agree to any request that may put you in a vulnerable position, such as performing compromising acts in front of a webcam and providing personal details to other Internet users

* Contact the police immediately if you receive any message or call from anyone claiming he is in some kind of trouble overseas and need you to urgently send money over

* Inform the Police if anyone tries to extort money from you