The Technology Crime Suppression Division is warning the public not to record their sex acts on Valentine's Day as the footage could be used in blackmail after a relationship ends.
"Lovers may voluntarily record their sexual intercourse," Pol Col Siriwat Deepor, deputy division commander, said yesterday.
"When they break up in the future, men could release the clips online and damage women."
"Sextortion" may be carried out by people who are in possession of pornographic materials of another person, he said.
The wrongdoers could be people who had a close relationship with a victim or those who convinced an unsuspecting victim to share private images online, he said.
Those images could be used to blackmail a victim for money or sex as the offender could post them online.
Sextortion is a type of crime that can have a devastating impact on a victim's money and reputation, he said. Some are reluctant to report the crime, it's so embarrassing.
Romance scams are another type of crime that the public should look out for, he said.
The crime involves scammers using fabricated social media profiles to lure unsuspecting victims.
These criminals tend to approach their targets by lying about wanting to develop sincere relations.
They then will ask their target to reveal their personal information before exploiting the situation.
Another type of scam, which uses a hybrid method, is luring victims into a relationship before asking them to "invest" their money in a false investment scheme before they are defrauded, he said.
Pol Lt Col Noppawan Panya, deputy spokeswoman at the Royal Thai Police Office, said 168 romance scams and 235 hybrid scams were reported last month alone.
The damages were estimated to be about 190 million baht, she said.
The Royal Thai Police advises people not to click on links sent by unknown parties, download dubious files or transfer money to strangers to avoid being scammed.
It also suggests that people keep track of their family members when they meet someone online.