Dorset Police have been online dating to raise awareness of sextortion, a crime growing nationally.

The force utilised Valentine’s Day, a peak time in the online dating community, to launch a new profile to provide safety information for those most at risk of the newly emerging crime.

Accounts were made on Tinder and Bumble, with 150 men aged 18-34 within the Dorset area interacting with Amanda, 26, from Wool.

The online account was made up of four bold emoji-based slides and an entertaining biography which were based on messages around the risks of sextortion.

The team at Bumble took minutes to remove the profile for breach of use, with Tinder removing the account in less than a day.

Jake Moore, cyber crime prevention officer for Dorset Police, said: “Part of the challenge in modern day policing is to find new ways to effectively communicate with the people the force serves.

“We understand it’s an edgy campaign but it needed to be to hit our target audience.

“It’s an absolute credit to Bumble and Tinder they noticed and removed our fake profile so quickly.

“We hope they would be equally as vigilant in identifying people responsible for sextortion or other scams.”

In cases of sextortion, fraudsters will launch a fake dating profile and make friends with a target’s contacts on social media for the purposes of extorting money by threatening to send intimate web-cam footage to the victim’s family, colleagues and friends.

On some occasions, the footage has been edited to suggest the victim has been engaged in illegal activity.

This activity was the first of its kind carried out by the police, with it’s spontaneity making it effective.

Although sextortion is not a big problem yet in Dorset, it is growing on a national scale, with Dorset police working hard to keep numbers low in the county.

Dorset PCC Martyn Underhill said: “This campaign is a fantastic example of forward-thinking policing. In an online age, people are at risk of being exploited in new ways and it is vital that policing is innovative in its response in order to keep people safe.”

Those that are victims of sextortion are asked to contact Dorset Police immediately, as well as the account provider.

There is a specialised team who will help with your case, and the force say there is no shame in reporting an incident.

The National Crime Agency’s website gives the following tips if you have been a victim of sextortion:

* Don’t panic- contact your local police and internet service provider

* Don’t communicate further with the criminals- take screen shots of your communication, suspend your accounts and report the matter to the right authority

* Don’t pay

* Preserve evidence

To contact Dorset Police, call 101, or visit dorset.police.uk