The Growing Threat of Sextortion: How Criminals are Exploiting Young People Online
Sextortion is a type of online bullying in which criminals threaten to post private photos of the victim unless they get what they want. It is becoming more common around the world. After cases more than doubled in the US last year [1], the National Crime Agency (NCA) in the UK has warned teachers about this "callous crime" in a way that has never been done before. People are ruining their lives because of sextortion, and some have committed suicide themselves from the stress and pain it brings.
Criminals, usually from West Africa and Southeast Asia, are going after young people, especially teenage boys between the ages of 14 and 18 [2]. They pretend to be another young person online and quickly start having sexually explicit talks with the victim. They then get the victim to share naked or almost naked photos or videos. The crooks then say they will show the pictures to other people if the victim doesn't pay them money or do what they say. They sometimes say they have hacked the victim's accounts and can see their contacts [3].
It's terrible for the victims and their families. Rosen Dowey said that the thieves "totally destroyed our family" [4]. Her 16-year-old son Murray killed himself after being attacked. It's important for victims to know they are not to blame and that help is available, even if the shame and fear are too much to handle.
To fight this growing danger, the NCA is trying to make educators, parents, and young people more aware of it. Their advice is meant to get rid of the shame surrounding sextortion and give victims the tools they need to get help [1:1]. The government is also telling tech companies that they need to be more responsible for user safety and make their sites safer [2:1].
Even though telling teens and young adults about the risks is important, it shouldn't be their only job to stay safe online. To stop the sextortion epidemic and keep more young lives from being destroyed by these cruel crooks, law enforcement, tech companies, schools, and parents need to work together.
NCA issues urgent warning about 'sextortion', National Crime Agency, 29 April 2024, https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/nca-issues-urgent-warning-about-sextortion ↩︎ ↩︎
Warning over sextortion after rise in teenage victims, The Telegraph, 29 April 2024, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/29/warning-over-sextortion-after-rise-in-teenage-victims/ ↩︎ ↩︎
Pupils get rare alert over dangers of sextortion, BBC News, 21 hours ago, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68918550 ↩︎
Teachers warned to be on lookout for victims of sextortion in UK schools, The Guardian, 29 Apr 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/29/teachers-warned-to-be-on-lookout-for-victims-of-sextortion-in-uk-schools ↩︎