‘Nasty and spineless’ scammer who used Grindr to blackmail dozens of men jailed

A “nasty and spineless” scammer targeted vulnerable men on Grindr to blackmail hundreds of pounds has been jailed for five years.

Anouar Sabbar, a 28-year-old from the south London neighbourhood Southwark, swindled at least £2,360 between April 2019 and June 2021 from dating app users.

After having consensual sex, Sabbar would pretend to be an escort and demand money for the visit, according to the Metropolitan Police Service, London’s force.

His playbook included threatening his bilked victims with beatings and stabbings or outing them to their girlfriends in order to squeeze them.

“They are coming,” he warned one victim. “I didn’t want to do this to you, but it looks like we will have to break your face.”