[kd5bjo]

I agree, though blackmail seems inaccurate. I've always understood blackmail to be a demand backed by a threat to reveal secret information[1]; this sounds more like an extortion racket[2].

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackmail#United_States

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extortion_racket

[yogo]

Yea, extortion seems more apt here. It's like a square and rectangle. All blackmail involves extortion, but not all extortion is blackmail.

[bduerst]

It is extortion, not blackmail. While blackmail is a form of extortion, it's as you say - threats to reveal potentially damaging information.