FBI warns of rising ‘sextortion’ schemes targeting minor boys

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The FBI issued a national public safety alert on Monday about “a horrific increase in reports of financial sextortion schemes targeting minor boys.”
• According to the agency, children and teens are being coerced to send sexually explicit photos and videos online.
• The sextortion schemes impacted at least 3,000 victims and led to more than a dozen suicides, according to reports.

The FBI issued a public safety alert Monday about an “explosion” of financial “sextortion” schemes targeting minors.

According to the FBI, it has received over 7,000 reports of financial sextortion against children and teens over the past year. The sextortion schemes have impacted at least 3,000 victims with the recent rise in incidents targeting teenage boys between the ages of 14 and 17. More than a dozen suicides have also been linked to such schemes.

The FBI partnered with Homeland Security Investigations and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to issue the alert.

Predators coerced their victims online into sending sexually explicit images. Then they extorted money or gift cards threatening to release the images online.

Law enforcement said a large percentage of the schemes originate outside of the United States, coming primarily in West African countries including Nigeria and the Ivory Coast.

The agency warned parents and caregivers to remain vigilant, especially over the holiday season, and to talk to children about the schemes “so we can prevent them in the first place.”

“The FBI has seen a horrific increase in reports of financial sextortion schemes targeting minor boys,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. “The fact is that the many victims who are afraid to come forward are not even included in those numbers.”

The agency asks parents and caregivers to work with them to prevent such crimes. The FBI is also urging parents to help children come forward if it does.

“Victims may feel like there is no way out—it is up to all of us to reassure them that they are not in trouble, there is hope, and they are not alone,” his statement continued.

Predators lure victims on social media platforms, gaming websites and video chat apps, typically targeting teenage boys by using fake female accounts. There were also victims as young as 10 years old.

The FBI added that many of the images were still released even if payments were made.

The shame, guilt or fear, the victims feel leads them to not seek help or report the abuse, the FBI said.

Source: ABC News