FBI Warns Teenage Boys about Sextortion Fraud
In April, the FBI Memphis Field Office warned of an increase in teenage boy sextortion scams. The crook pretends to be a young girl and initiates contact via an online platform with the victim. He then convinces him to share explicit images or engage in the explicit activity that the crook records. Finally, he demands money to stop the images from being shared online. An app, a game, or social media account could all be used as an online platform.
Tragic consequences can be caused by the nature of the crime or the immaturity and maturity of the victim. In March, a 17-year-old boy killed himself after sharing an explicit picture with someone he had met via Twitter. He thought the victim was a teenage girl. Although they wanted $1,000, the crooks said that $300 would be enough as it was all he had. He sent the money but was pressured by them to send more. Then he committed suicide. From the moment he received his initial message, it had been only six hours.
A mother of a South Carolina victim contemplated suicide but decided to not go through with it. She felt she had done all she could to help her son learn about online safety. She stated that she never would have thought that her son would speak to someone he did not know online and that it could happen to any child.
Sextortion schemes don’t only target boys. After convincing teenage girls from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom to have explicit sexual activities online, a Florida man was sentenced to 105 years. He threatened to share the images with them if they didn’t send more. Although 109 victims were identified by authorities, it was believed that there were more than 200.
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