“They’re taking those photos and they’re manipulating them, creating highly sexualized sometimes pornographic content and then using it for extortion and blackmail.”
HOUSTON — There’s a new twist on an old crime — online predators using sexually explicit photos to blackmail their victims.
Now, the photos are fake and the victims are kids.
It happened to a Houston boy last week. To protect her son, KHOU will identify the boy’s mother as “Jasmine,” although that’s not her real name.
Jasmine said that last week her 17-year-old got a Snapchat from a girl claiming to have mutual friends with him and wanted to follow him on his private Instagram page. Then, she asked for a picture of his face, which he sent, only to get it sent back minutes later doctored, where he appeared to be naked.
“And said, ‘If you don’t send me money, I am posting this to all of these contacts, which included teachers and coaches,” Jasmine said.
Jasmine said the doctored photo looked realistic, “very much so. Had I not known it was fabricated, I would’ve not known,” she said.
