US authorities sounded the alarm on Monday over what they are calling an “explosion” in cases in which children have been forced to pay after being pressured into sending sexual images, a phenomenon known as “sextortion.”
According to the FBI, law enforcement agencies in the United States last year identified more than 7,000 cases of “sextortion” involving young children and adolescents, with a total of 3,000 victims.
Most cases involve boys, of whom more than a dozen have committed suicide, the FBI said.
The agency says most sextortion surgeries come from outside the United States, mostly Nigeria and Ivory Coast.
They usually start in chat rooms and online gaming sites where people use fake female identities.
Victims are persuaded to send sexually explicit pictures of themselves before being threatened with releasing the photos if a sum of money is not paid, according to the FBI.
The young people involved are generally between 14 and 17 years old, but police have interviewed victims as young as 10 years old.
“The shame, fear and confusion that victims feel when trapped often prevents them from seeking help,” the FBI said.
Federal police urge parents to educate their children about the existence of this threat.
“The FBI has seen a staggering rise in financial sextortion cases targeting underage boys — and the fact is, most victims who are afraid to come forward aren’t even included in those numbers,” the director said in a statement from the FBI. Christopher Wray.
“Victims may think there is no way out,” he said. “It’s up to all of us to reassure them that they won’t get into trouble, that there is hope and that they are not alone.”