Blackmail vs. Extortion — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on October 5, 2023
Blackmail involves demanding money or favors under the threat of revealing damaging information, while Extortion demands money, property, or services through the threat of violence, damage, or harm.
Difference Between Blackmail and Extortion
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Navigating through the concepts of Blackmail and Extortion, we intertwine with illicit strategies tethered to coercion and intimidation. Blackmail classically infers utilizing damaging or embarrassing information as a lever to coerce individuals into yielding to demands.
In contrast, Extortion stretches its roots into a broader soil, habituating itself with the exploitation of fears through the threat of physical harm, damage to property, or other menacing outcomes, effectively coercing victims to submit to specified demands or actions.
The edifice of Blackmail firmly resides on the predicate of possessing potentially harmful information, which is wielded to instigate fear and compliance, often snaring the victim within a constrained dilemma where submission seemingly outweighs revelation.
Extortion, on the other hand, is not perpetually tethered to information but engenders fear through potential physical, financial, or reputational harm, employing a spectrum of threats that pivot more overtly on potential physical or material consequences.
Whilst both Blackmail and Extortion entrench themselves in coercive mechanisms, they differentiate fundamentally in their methodologies and operative threats, navigating between psychological, reputational, and physical channels to extort compliance from their victims.
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Comparison Chart
Primary Tool
Damaging information
Threat of harm or damage
Coercion Type
Psychological and reputational
Often physical, financial, or material
Legal Classification
A form of Extortion
A broader criminal act
Common Context
Often personal or professional relationships
May include business, personal, or criminal contexts
Threat Application
Usually indirect or implied
Can be direct and explicit
Compare with Definitions
Blackmail
Gaining illicit advantages through informational threats.
Her career was derailed by relentless Blackmail from a colleague.
Extortion
Coercing action or value through the threat of harm.
The business owner faced Extortion from a local gang.
Blackmail
Coercion involving threats to reveal damaging information.
He used her secret to Blackmail her into paying him.
Extortion
Illicitly obtaining assets under the threat of violence.
Criminal organizations often utilize Extortion as a revenue stream.
Blackmail
Utilizing knowledge detrimentally as leverage.
Blackmail often hinges on knowing something that others wish to hide.
Extortion
Forcing compliance via the menace of damaging outcomes.
Extortion often flourishes where fear can be readily cultivated.
Blackmail
Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and may be revealed to family members or associates rather than to the general public.
Extortion
Unlawfully extracting resources through intimidation.
The Extortion scheme targeted small businesses with threats of vandalism.
Blackmail
The action, treated as a criminal offence, of demanding money from someone in return for not revealing compromising information which one has about them
She recounted the blackmail threats
They were acquitted of charges of blackmail
Extortion
Compelling action by threatening detrimental consequences.
She was a victim of Extortion, threatened with harm to her family.
Blackmail
Demand money from (someone) in return for not revealing compromising information about them
They use this fact to blackmail him, trying to force him to vote for their candidate
Extortion
Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offense; the bulk of this article deals with such cases.
Blackmail
Extortion of money or something else of value from a person by the threat of exposing a criminal act or discreditable information.
Extortion
The practice of obtaining something, especially money, through force or threats
He used bribery and extortion to build himself a huge, art-stuffed mansion
Extortion rackets
Blackmail
Something of value, especially money, extorted in this manner
Refused to pay blackmail.
Extortion
Illegal use of one's official position or powers to obtain property, funds, or patronage.
Blackmail
Tribute formerly paid to freebooters along the Scottish border for protection from pillage.
Extortion
The act or an instance of extorting something, as by psychological pressure.
Blackmail
The extortion of money or favours by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure.
Extortion
An excessive or exorbitant charge.
Blackmail
(archaic) A form of protection money (or corn, cattle, etc.) anciently paid, in the north of England and south of Scotland, to the allies of robbers in order to be spared from pillage.
Extortion
The practice of extorting money or other property by the use of force or threats.
Blackmail
Black rent, or rent paid in corn, meat, or the lowest coin, as opposed to white rent, which was paid in silver.
Extortion
The act of extorting; the act or practice of wresting anything from a person by force, by threats, or by any undue exercise of power; undue exaction; overcharge.
Blackmail
Compromising material that can be used to extort someone, dirt.
Extortion
The offense committed by an officer who corruptly claims and takes, as his fee, money, or other thing of value, that is not due, or more than is due, or before it is due.
Blackmail
(transitive) To extort money or favors from (a person) by exciting fears of injury other than bodily harm, such as injury to reputation, distress of mind, false accusation, etc.
He blackmailed a businesswoman by threatening to expose an alleged fraud.
Extortion
That which is extorted or exacted by force.
Blackmail
(Kenya) To speak ill of someone; to defame someone.
Extortion
An exorbitant charge
Blackmail
A certain rate of money, corn, cattle, or other thing, anciently paid, in the north of England and south of Scotland, to certain men who were allied to robbers, or moss troopers, to be by them protected from pillage.
Extortion
Unjust exaction (as by the misuse of authority);
The extortion by dishonest officials of fees for performing their sworn duty
Blackmail
Payment of money exacted by means of intimidation; also, extortion of money from a person by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure.
Extortion
The felonious act of extorting money (as by threats of violence)
Blackmail
Black rent, or rent paid in corn, flesh, or the lowest coin, a opposed to "white rent", which paid in silver.
Blackmail
To extort money from by exciting fears of injury other than bodily harm, as injury to reputation, distress of mind, etc.; as, to blackmail a merchant by threatening to expose an alleged fraud.
Blackmail
Extortion of money by threats to divulge discrediting information
Blackmail
Exert pressure on someone through threats
Blackmail
Obtain through threats
Blackmail
A practice of securing compliance by threatening exposure.
The actor was a victim of Blackmail involving compromising photos.
Blackmail
Achieving objectives by menacing disclosure.
Blackmail became the criminal’s tool for acquiring financial gain.
Common Curiosities
Does Blackmail always involve money?
Not always, Blackmail may seek money, favors, or specific actions from the victim.
Can Extortion involve threats to reveal secrets?
Yes, while more common in Blackmail, Extortion can also involve such threats.
Can Extortion be verbal or implied?
Yes, Extortion threats can be verbal, written, or otherwise implied to the victim.
Can you accidentally engage in Blackmail?
Legally, Blackmail generally requires intentional threat use to coerce the victim.
Are Blackmail and Extortion always illegal?
Yes, both are considered illegal activities in virtually all jurisdictions.
Is physical violence a common element in Blackmail?
Typically no, Blackmail usually leverages damaging information, not physical threats.
Does Extortion always involve direct confrontation?
Not always, Extortion threats can be delivered indirectly, such as through messages.
Can Blackmail occur without the victim’s knowledge?
Blackmail usually involves direct communication of the threat to the victim.
Is Extortion always related to organized crime?
No, while common in organized crime, Extortion can be perpetrated by individuals or groups.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
