Man arrested for phone blackmail

Police arrested a Henan Province man accused of blackmailing the owner of a lost mobile phone with the intimate photos he found on the device, police reported Wednesday.

The victim, surnamed Zhou, lost the phone on his way out of Zhangjiang High Technology Park Station of metro Line 2 last month, according to a police press release. He searched for the phone on the road and tried calling his own number, but no one answered.

Because the phone was several years old, Zhou didn't see it as much of a loss, until the next day when his girlfriend received a text message from a stranger that mentioned the couple's photos on the phone were quite sexy.

The suspect, surnamed Zhao, threatened to post the photos online unless he was paid 5,000 yuan ($787) to return the phone. Zhou called the police, who asked him to call Zhao and offer to pay the blackmail. When Zhao appeared at the sting with the mobile phone, police arrested him.

In the press release, police reminded residents that it is risky to save intimate photos on mobile phones and computers.