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FBI issues safety alert on financial sextortion schemes, over 3K minors targeted

By FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team
Published  December 19, 2022 3:03pm EST
Technology
FOX 5 Atlanta

Over the course of the year, law enforcement has received over 7000 reports related to the online financial sextortion—the predatory practice of requesting explicit photos or videos from minors, then threatening to leak said photos or videos if money is not exchanged for them. In at least 3000 of those reports, the minor involved was successfully victimized. Authorities say most of the victims were boys, and at least a dozen of them ended up taking their own lives as a result. The FBI, in partnership with Homeland Security Investigations and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, has issued a national public safety alert.

"The FBI has seen a horrific increase in reports of financial sextortion schemes targeting minor boys—and the fact is that the many victims who are afraid to come forward are not even included in those numbers," said FBI Director Christopher Wray. "The FBI is here for victims, but we also need parents and caregivers to work with us to prevent this crime before it happens and 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."

Officials say a large percentage of these sextortion schemes originated outside the United States, and primarily in West African countries like Nigeria and the Ivory Coast.

The FBI and its partners say the safety alert is coming out now as many children enter winter break. They are hoping the attention on it now can keep minors from falling victim later.

"The protection of children is a society’s most sacred duty," said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. "It calls on each of us to do everything we can to keep kids from harm, including ensuring the threats they face are brought into the light and confronted. Armed with the information in this alert message, parents, caregivers, and children themselves should feel empowered to detect fake identities, take steps to reject any attempt to obtain private material, and if targeted, have a plan to seek help from a trusted adult."

How are predators finding victims?

For parents and guardians wondering how to protect their children, authorities say these schemes usually take place in online environments like common social media sites, gaming sites or video chat applications where young people are used to feeling comfortable, familiar and safe. Predators tend to create fake accounts impersonating women and target boys between the ages of 14 and 17 years. However, that's not an absolute. The FBI says it has interviewed victims as young as ten years old.

"The sexual exploitation of children is a deplorable crime. HSI [Homeland Security Investigations] special agents will continue to exhaust every resource to identify, locate, and apprehend predators to ensure they face justice," said Steve K. Francis, HSI Acting Executive Associate Director. "Criminals who lurk in platforms on the internet are not as anonymous as they think. HSI will continue to leverage cutting-edge technology to end these heinous acts."

In some cases, even after a victim sends the predator the requested payment, the individual releases the explicit media anyway. Authorities say the feelings of shame, fear and confusion victims experience when they realize the situation they are in often prevents them from asking for help or reporting the abuse.

"This is a growing crisis, and we've seen sextortion completely devastate children and families," said Michelle DeLaune, CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. "As the leading nonprofit focused on child protection, we've seen first-hand the rise in these cases worldwide. The best defense against this crime is to talk to your children about what to do if they're targeted online. We want everyone to know help is out there, and they're not alone."

So, what do you do if you believe you, or your child, is a victim of sextortion?

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) provided a list of the right steps to take:

  • Remember, the predator is to blame, not your child or you.
  • Get help before deciding whether to pay money or otherwise comply with the predator. Cooperating or paying rarely stops the blackmail and continued harassment.
  • Report the predator’s account via the platform’s safety feature.
  • Block the predator and do not delete the profile or messages. These things can be helpful to law enforcement in identifying and stopping them.
  • Reach out to NCMEC to get the explicit images of you off the internet.
  • Visit MissingKids.org/IsYourExplicitContentOutThere to learn how to notify companies yourself or visit cybertipline.org to report to us for help with the process.
  • Ask for help. This can be a very complex problem, and may require help from adults or law enforcement.
  • If you don’t feel that you have adults in your corner, you can reach out to NCMEC for support at gethelp@ncmec.org or call NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST.