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Sextortion targeting teen boys on the rise
FBI Atlanta says it's seeing a drastic increase in the number of reported sextortion cases involving young men, resulting in millions in financial losses.
ATLANTA - Sextortion cases have seen a dramatic increase in Georgia, according to the FBI Atlanta office. The reported cases involve young men. Federal investigators are warning parents to keep a close eye on who children interact with online.
"It's because it's easy. These folks, who are typically overseas actors, you know, West Africa and Nigeria. We're seeing some other localities increasing their sextortion activity," said Thomas McAfee, supervisory special agent in the FBI's Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking program.
"Everybody is on social media. Everybody wants to have large followings, lots of likes and things like that," he added.
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The FBI is warning parents to be mindful of who their children are interacting with online as sextortion cases targeting teens have spiked in the last year. (FOX 5)
Recently, federal investigators have seen an increase in sextortion cases, where scammers coerce mainly young men, from ages 14-17, to send compromising photos. Those scammers then demand money from the victims.
"The threat is, ‘If you don't pay me, I'm going to distribute your photograph to your friends and family,’" McAfee explained.
The FBI Atlanta office alone had 196 reports of sextortion in 2023. That is a 700% increase from 2021.
The FBI provided this example of a message a victim may receive in a sextortion case.
Last year, the Atlanta office helped extradite two men from Nigeria involved in a global sextortion ring that resulted in the death of a 17-year-old in Michigan.
"If you become victimized, stop engaging with the perpetrator. Don't send them money. Certainly, don't do any self-harm. Save all your photographs and chat logs. Don't send them to us, but save them," McAfee said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation offices in Atlanta. (FOX 5)
Officials encourage parents to keep private accounts for their kids.
"They really should try to minimize how many unknown followers they have," he explained.
Parents can find resources as well as a portal to report any sextortion cases or other illicit activity at https://www.ic3.gov.