The FBI and a national parents’ group are warning of an alarming rise in sextortion cases in which a predator cons the victim, usually a teen or young person, into engaging in explicit activity on social media.
Predators ask victims to record the activity and send them the images, which are used to generate more sexual material and to extort money or other things of value. They also may ask to share the victim’s account in exchange for not posting the compromising material online.
“Few crimes are as damaging and traumatic to a young person as sextortion,” says Raul Bujanda, Albuquerque FBI Special Agent in Charge. “Victims may feel embarrassed and be reluctant to come forward. They and their parents or guardians need to know it’s not their fault. The only way we are going to catch these perpetrators and keep them from harming others is for their victims to contact us.”
The local FBI received 107 reports of the crime between January and May of this year. The figure for the same period last year was 44.
That huge increase reinforces “the need for parents, guardians and teenagers to be aware of this growing online danger,” the FBI said earlier this year.
The nonprofit Parents Together Action, a national parenting group, sent out a warning this month about dramatic increases across the country, saying that online scammers often pose as underage kids so they can befriend or start romantic relationships with the victims.
The majority of victims…
