The FBI, US Homeland Security Investigations and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) issued a public safety alert on Monday warning of a rapid rise in so-called sextortion cases involving minors, urging parents to address the issue with their children
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th December, 2022) The FBI, US Homeland Security Investigations and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) issued a public safety alert on Monday warning of a rapid rise in so-called sextortion cases involving minors, urging parents to address the issue with their children.
"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," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. "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."
Law enforcement has received over 7,000 reports related to online financial sextortion of minors, resulting in at least 3,000 victims and more than a dozen suicides, the FBI alert said. The schemes, a large percentage of which originate outside the United States, primarily target boys, the alert said.
The alert urged parents and caregivers to engage with their children about the issue of financial sextortion schemes over the holiday season.
The schemes often occur in online environments frequented by minors, including social media and gaming sites, according to the alert. Perpetrators often use fake female accounts to target teen boys, although the FBI had interviewed victims as young as 10-years old, the alert said.
Predators convince minors to produce explicit materials, which they then threaten to make public unless the victim sends payment, the alert said. The shame and fear that victims feel often prevents them from seeking help or reporting the abuse, the alert added.
The NCMEC encourages parents and young people to get help before sending payment, block the predator's accounts, retain messages that could be useful to law enforcement and contact the FBI.
