Police fear sting by criminals is likely behind AFL nude photos Google drive leak scandal
It has been feared that the massive leak of nude photos reportedly featuring more than 45 current and former AFL stars may have been published by organized criminals in an attempt at ‘extortion’.
A Google Drive file purporting to contain images of stars past and present was shared online with screenshots, photos and videos claiming to include AFL players, including Brownlow Medal winners.
Police sources have told Daily Mail Australia that the data dump is likely the end result of a massive ‘sextortion’ attempt by cunning criminals preying on ignorant footballers.
Police believe AFL players are likely targets of criminals who use young women to lure them into sending them intimate images
Geelong Cats Hall of Fame member Jimmy Bartel (pictured with girlfriend Amelia Shepperd) has lashed out at the “disgusting” person or persons who leaked the footage. Daily Mail Australia is not insinuating that he was included in the illegal data dump
A Google drive (pictured, with players’ names hidden) has been widely distributed. It reportedly features nude photos of 45 past and current footy stars
“There’s a good income in it if they can get $5,000 to $10,000 from a young fellow. There are people who trick guys into sending stuff like this all the time,” a police source said.
“The problem is that paying won’t save you. They just come back and ask for more.’
The published link listed each player’s name, which was accompanied by a folder of explicit, graphic photos and even videos supposedly featuring them.
Those images were gone Wednesday evening after news of its existence broke in the media.
Daily Mail Australia chose not to identify any of the men involved in the illegal leak.
The file appears to have been uploaded last July by someone using the name “Suesomebodiesbusiness.”
An email from Daily Mail Australia to an address linked to the uploaded files received no response.
A Victoria Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday that no one had been contacted in relation to the photo dump.
Victoria Police are aware of explicit images circulating online of athletes. No reports have been received by Victoria Police at this time,” the spokesman said.
It’s a different story about the border in South Australia, where a complaint was reportedly made by Adelaide Crows officials.
South Australia Police confirmed they were investigating the matter, but declined to provide further details about the investigation.
“South Australia Police are aware of interstate reports of intimate images of athletes being shared online,” a spokesperson said on Thursday.
“SAPOL will work with the AFL Integrity Unit and investigate all matters reported to the SA Police.”
In a statement, the AFL said it has no information on why the images were illegally distributed (league CEO Gillon McLachlan, pictured)
Sydney Swans star Chad Warner had posted nude photos of him online a year ago. He was not among those listed on the illegal data dump
Former veteran Victoria Police Detective and Head of Cybersafety Solutions, Susan McLean, told Daily Mail Australia that ‘sextortion’ has become a global problem.
“Sextortion is a huge problem and its primary targets are men,” she said.
“There are plenty of people out there who get illegal nude photos of people to blackmail them, but I don’t know if that’s the case here… One of the fastest growing types of crime in the world is sextortion.”
Ms McLean said the latest AFL photo dump was quite unique due to the number of images published.
“It’s unusual, but there’s debate about the fact that they’re not all real, which I don’t know because I haven’t seen them,” she said.
Ms McLean said players would have to personally file official complaints for the police to act.
“Until the police start an investigation because a player makes a formal complaint, nothing will be done,” she said.
‘The police cannot start an investigation based on a report in the media. So if the players want to find out who is behind this, they have to file a complaint. If they don’t, there will be no investigation, no deterrence and no one will be held accountable.’
Ms McLean stressed that regardless of the outcome, the players involved were not to blame.
Security expert and head of Cybersafety Solutions Susan McLean (pictured) said ‘sextortion’ is rampant around the world
“The players have committed no crime. If they chose to share an image as a consenting adult, they have every right to choose – whether it’s a good choice is a whole other debate, but the only people to blame here are the people who put together the Google Drive document and those who are peddling it,” she said.
It is not the first time that a large photo dump of nudes, allegedly of AFL players, has appeared online.
In July last year, around the same time that the ‘Sue Somebody’ files were first uploaded, images of Sydney Swans star Chad Warner were published without his permission.
Multiple images of the young gun showed him naked and performing sexual acts.
In 2018, charges against South Australian woman Georgia May Gibson, then aged 21, were dropped after she was charged with filming and leaking a raunchy video of AFL great Dane Swan.
The decision marked the end of a long ordeal for Gibson, who was charged after footage emerged online purporting to show the former Collingwood star.
In Victoria, it is illegal to share an intimate or sexual image of a person if they do not consent.
A police source agreed that it was unusual for such a large number of victims to be targeted at once.
“You dropped like 45 images in one hit here. It has all the signs of an organized job, probably with several girls. Then there are threats and pressure,” said the source.
An explicit video of AFL great Dane Swan (pictured) was shared by a woman in 2018. Georgia May Gibson was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing
Many of the images published appear to have been sent by data subjects via direct messaging services such as SnapChat and WhatsApp.
The great Jimmy Bartel of the Geelong Hall of Fame lashed out at the “disgusting” person or persons behind the leak.
“It’s disgusting – most of the images are fake, fabricated, staged,” he said on radio station 3AW on Thursday.
“He’s a grubby person who hopefully gets caught. This is now a criminal case.’
The AFL Players’ Association labeled the sharing of the footage a “terrible and abhorrent act”.
“The AFL Players’ Association is aware that the AFL is investigating a collection of explicit images of past and current players that have been distributed without their consent,” Chief Executive Paul Marsh said in a statement Wednesday evening.
While it is important to note that some of the images may not be legitimate, this is an abhorrent and abhorrent act and a likely unlawful invasion of privacy which is unacceptable.
“We ask the public to take this matter seriously by not seeking out or sharing any of these photos and to respect the rights and privacy of those involved.
“We will support our affected members through our legal and welfare services. This is now a police matter and we will continue to assist where necessary.’
The AFL’s Integrity Unit worked overnight with the eSafety Commissioner to remove the images from the internet.
According to those who saw them, some allegedly contained images of married and attached players with timestamps indicating they were still with their partners when the images were taken.
“I think they come from DMs. No social media awareness training cures stupid,” suggested an expert from footy forum BigFooty.com.
“Could be phone hacks too,” another online sleuth mused. “My phone was hacked a few months ago. Then received a message with photos with the text pay or they will be shared.
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting any wrongdoing on the part of the AFL players, nor have we verified the authenticity of any of the images.