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Hacked and blackmailed: How I took back control

When hackers threatened to leak Patricia Franquesa's nude photos they had stolen from her laptop — she fought back.

In July 2019 Patricia Franquesa got an email that turned her world upside down. Her computer had been hacked. The hacker had found intimate pictures on there and was now threatening to send them to all of her contacts: friends, family, colleagues, almost anyone she'd interacted with online. Confronted by this attempt to shame her, Patricia made a bold decision. She has made a documentary about her her experience called My Sextortion Diary. The clip you hear is from her film.

Sally Huband had dreams of hiking the coastlines of Shetland, the Scottish archipelago she called home but then she got sick. Her world shrank, she turned to beach combing and became transfixed by what the ocean would bring to her shores but there was one particular treasure that she set her heart on finding. A 'sea bean' - a large, brown seed from a tropical plant that makes its way across the oceans to remote northern islands. They are very rare and are steeped in magic and folklore. Sally's book is called Sea Bean.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

(Photo: Patricia Franquesa. Credit: Olatz Ove)

Available now

41 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Mon 15 Jul 2024 11:06GMT
  • Mon 15 Jul 2024 17:06GMT
  • Mon 15 Jul 2024 21:06GMT
  • Tue 16 Jul 2024 02:06GMT

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Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected