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The FBI issued a national public safety alert on Monday warning that more than 3,000 minors in the United States have been assaulted in online “financial sextortion” programs over the past year.
Targeting mostly boys, the schemes involve forcing children and teens to post explicit images online and then extorting them for money. Over the past year, law enforcement agencies received over 7,000 reports related to online financial sextortion of minors, resulting in at least 3,000 confirmed victims.
The FBI says more than a dozen suicides have been linked to these sextortion programs, a large percentage of which originated outside the United States and mostly in West African countries like Nigeria and Ivory Coast.
With many children going on winter break this holiday season, the FBI, in conjunction with Homeland Security Investigations and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, has sounded the alarm about what they are describing as a “blast” of these incidents, and are imploring parents and caregivers to do so educate their children.
The FBI warns that online sextortion issues are increasingly affecting teenage boys
“The FBI has seen a staggering increase in reports of financial sextortion programs targeting underage boys — and the fact is, the many victims who are afraid to come forward aren’t even included in those numbers,” said the FBI Director Christopher Wray in a statement. “The FBI is here for the victims, but we also need parents and caregivers to work with us to prevent this crime before it happens and to help children come forward when it happens.” Victims may feel like there is no way out – it’s up to all of us to reassure them that they are not in trouble, there is hope and they are not alone.”
FBI Director Chris Wray testifies during the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing entitled Homeland Threats Thursday, November 17, 2022, at the Dirksen Building. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Financial sextortion schemes occur in online settings where young people feel most comfortable, using popular social media websites, gaming sites or video chat applications that feel familiar and safe, the warning said. On these platforms, online predators often use fake female accounts and target underage males between the ages of 14 and 17, but the FBI has interviewed victims as young as 10.
Perpetrators use deception to convince the young person to produce an explicit video or photo. Once criminals acquire the images, they threaten to release the compromising material unless the victim sends money or gift cards. According to the FBI, the predators often solicit payments through a variety of peer-to-peer payment apps.
In many cases, perpetrators release the images even if payments are made. The shame, fear and confusion victims feel when caught in this cycle often prevent them from asking for help or reporting the abuse, the warning said.
The main building of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington DC, USA, on November 29, 2022. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
“This is a growing crisis and we have seen sextortion utterly devastate children and families,” NCMEC CEO Michelle DeLaune said in a statement. “As a leading nonprofit organization focused on protecting children, we have seen firsthand the rise in these cases around the world. The best defense against this crime is to talk to your kids about what to do if they are being attacked online. We want everyone to know that help is out there and that they are not alone.”
The FBI says when young people are being exploited, they are a crime victim and should report it. Contact your local FBI field office, call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or report it online at tips.fbi.gov.
NCMEC has outlined actions parents and young people can take when they or their child are victims of sextortion, including “Remember, the perpetrator is at fault, not your child or you.” or otherwise pursue the predator. Cooperating or paying rarely stops the blackmail and ongoing harassment.
This file image shows a child pornography investigator. (Arne Dedert/Picture Alliance via Getty Images)
The NCMEC requires reporting the predator’s account through the platform’s security feature and blocking the predator, but not deleting the profile or messages, as this may help law enforcement identify and stop them. NCMEC can help get objectionable images off the internet.
Parents or carers can visit MissingKids.org/IsYourExplicitContentOutThere to learn how to notify companies themselves, or visit cybertipline.org to contact us for help with the process.
For minors who “don’t feel like you have adults in your corner,” the FBI advises contacting NCMEC for assistance at [email protected] or NCMEC at 1-800-THE -Call LOST.
“Protecting children is a society’s most sacred duty,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “It urges each of us to do whatever it takes to keep children safe, including ensuring the threats they face are brought to light and confronted. Armed with the information in this alert, parents, caregivers, and children themselves should feel empowered to detect fake identities, take steps to deny any attempt to access private material, and have a plan to get help in the event of an attack to find a trustworthy adult.
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“The sexual exploitation of children is a deplorable crime. HSI Special Agents will continue to exert all resources to identify, locate and apprehend predators to ensure they are brought to justice,” added Steve K. Francis, acting Executive Associate Director of HSI. “Criminals lurking on internet platforms are not as anonymous as they think. HSI will continue to use cutting-edge technology to end these heinous acts.”
Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @danimwallace.