Metro reveals the people behind the ‘spiderweb’ of creep-shot sites

There is a web of websites devoted to “creep-shotting” and upskirting women and girls across the UK and around the world. In one clip, a girl who looks no older than 15 walks along, unaware that someone is following just behind her. A hidden camera is aimed directly at the back of her yoga shorts, capturing close-up footage from intimate angles as she and her friends move through a UK shopping centre.

In another video, a young woman is followed through the same mall. As she browses clothes on a rail, a concealed camera films up her skirt. Last month, Metro exposed this kind of invasive and illegal material in an investigation into the disturbing world of “creep shooters” — people who film and sell upskirting footage online as part of a vast international “violation economy.” But this new footage does not come from the same website.

It belongs to another platform, which we found is only a small part of a much larger and more complex network of connected sites targeting women and girls across the world. Metro’s original investigation even appeared on one creep-shotting “discussion” forum, where one user said members in the UK should “wait for this to die down.” Inside the creepshot matrix Using open-source intelligence techniques, Metro has identified two prolific creators of this depraved content. The men have filmed victims in places including Westfield Stratford, Westfield Shepherd’s Bush and Harold Hill.

They are linked to a specific website and often “collaborate,” filming the same victims together from different angles. We cannot name them because both have been arrested and are awaiting trial. Although the site connected to them, which we revealed in our report last month, is no longer publicly accessible, a large amount of their material is still easy to find through third-party sites.

And these men are just the beginning. As our investigation widened, we uncovered a network of creators, websites and Telegram channels operating in and around the capital and across the wider UK, linked to other sellers based in Europe and the US. By examining locations and timestamps in some clips, we found women being followed by creep shooters for as long as 30 minutes.

In one video, which was being sold for $40, a lone woman is tracked around London until she is filmed walking down a quiet suburban side street, apparently on her way home. Another clip follows three friends between Elizabeth Line stations and onto a bus. One screenshot shows one of the girls asleep on the bus while the anonymous camera operator secretly films her.

Using software from intelligence firm OSINT Industries, we traced usernames and connections between creators, sellers and sites across the marketplace. On one site, we found 1,975 posts directing users to clips from one of the London-based creators we identified. Those posts had nearly one million views.

The site also sold each video for $10, with payment requested in bitcoin through an active Telegram channel. On another website, videos made by the second suspect we identified were still being sold for $30, with updates posted as recently as February last year. How do upskirting websites work?

These videos are packaged, edited and shared through an underground marketplace made up of shifting websites and Telegram channels. Some sites even have customer service email addresses and membership clubs. While the exact process varies, our investigation found a common pattern: a target is chosen, almost always a young woman in tight clothing.

She is followed and covertly filmed from intimate angles. The footage is then edited and often branded with the creator’s watermark. Content creators use pseudonyms to separate themselves and their videos.

Some specialise in particular niches, such as getting close behind victims and exposing themselves while filming, or mimicking sexual acts. The videos are uploaded to creator websites and sold either individually or as part of bundles. We have chosen not to name the sites we investigated, so as not to direct traffic to them.

Buyers browsing these sites are shown previews of the clips for sale, and preview folders are often stored on a specific Russian cloud-storage platform. Customers are then directed to Telegram channels, where payments and memberships are arranged. Payment services such as PayPal and Venmo are used, and in many cases the payment is made in bitcoin.

These websites are frequently shut down and relaunched under different but similar names. Customers and members are kept informed about changes, updates and new content through Telegram channels. The videos are also listed on third-party aggregate sites that offer thousands of clips for sale from creep shooters around the world, with videos categorised by creator handle.

Where are “creep-shotters” targeting? The criminals behind this content often focus on busy places such as shopping centres and public transport, where they can get close to victims and then disappear into crowds. Other popular locations include carnivals, fairs, concerts and conventions.

Several videos we reviewed appear to have been filmed at a cosplay event. Others were recorded at Notting Hill Carnival. The scale of the issue was highlighted internationally recently, when women using an amusement ride at Munich’s Oktoberfest were offered free cycling shorts after an investigation uncovered more than 32,000 voyeuristic videos linked to the attraction.

Many showed women’s underwear as their dresses were lifted by the spinning Teufelsrad, or Devil’s Wheel. The market exposed by our investigation, which is now being examined by British police forces, is vast, organised and well established. Beyond the sexually invasive and predatory nature of the footage, the videos can reveal victims’ faces, friends, shopping habits and daily journeys.

Once a clip enters this marketplace, it can be copied, repackaged and resold, potentially remaining online forever. Most disturbingly, many of the women and girls caught on camera will never even know it happened. Detective Superintendent Dan Thompson, the Met’s lead for Violence Against Women and Girls, said: “All women should feel safe while travelling across London, and we recognise the concern that the existence of such websites will cause.

“Nobody should have to live with the fear of being subjected to this intimidating behaviour. “We are working hard to prevent offences like this through increased proactive operations that use plain-clothes officers to identify predatory behaviour in public spaces and stop dangerous offenders in their tracks. “Over the last six months, charges and outcomes for offences of violence against women and girls have risen by 20 percent.”