Gigi Hadid calls police over alleged blackmail plot

Model Gigi Hadid has called in police to track down hackers who are allegedly threatening to release private pictures stolen from her online accounts.

The 20 year old has been targeted by a group of cyber criminals who are allegedly blackmailing her by threatening to leak personal photographs and videos which they accessed through her iCloud account.

Gigi has refused to hand over any money, and has called the police and hired a private security company to find the suspects and prosecute them, according to TMZ.com.

The model, who walked the runway for Victoria's Secret at the underwear brand's annual fashion extravaganza this month (Nov15), recently split from pop star Joe Jonas.

The former couple both attended the American Music Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday (22Nov15) separately, and Gigi showed off a new shorter hairstyle, while Joe displayed a blue hue as he appeared with his new band DNCE.

Dozens of actors and pop stars, including Jennifer Lawrence, Kim Kardashian and Kirsten Dunst, were left mortified last year (14) when hackers accessed their iCloud accounts and leaked nude snaps on the Internet.

"Just because I'm a public figure, just because I'm an actress, does not mean that I asked for this," Jennifer told Vanity Fair magazine about the hack last year (14). "It does not mean that it comes with the territory. It's my body, and it should be my choice, and the fact that it is not my choice is absolutely disgusting. I can't believe that we even live in that kind of world. It is not a scandal. It is a sex crime. It is a sexual violation. It's disgusting."

Kim was less angry, saying at the time, "I feel violated because these are private pictures. I didn't choose for them to be out there. But I'm also realistic. I'm on covers of magazines practically naked, so I can't go crazy about it. The only choice I can make is to not let it shake me up. I'm not having that choice taken away from me."