Press Release
☷Sextortion A Growing Threat Preying Upon Our Nation s Teens
Federal Bureau of Investigation ( By Press Release office)
Jan 19,2024
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The FBI wants to give a heads up to parents , teachers , caregivers , and kids about a crime called sextortion . This crime happens when someone tricks a young person into doing sexual things on camera and then uses those images to blackmail them . The FBI in Sacramento is saying that it ' s important to talk to kids about how to be safe online and how to handle situations like this . They want to make sure that victims know they ' re not alone and that they can report these crimes . Sextortion is when someone pressures a young person into sending explicit pictures or videos . Once they have those images , they threaten to share them unless the victim sends more explicit stuff . The offenders get off on this kind of stuff . There ' s also a version of sextortion where the goal is money . After getting the explicit material , the offender threatens to share it unless the victim pays up in gift cards , mobile payments , wire transfers , or cryptocurrency . These offenders are mainly in countries like Nigeria , Ivory Coast , and the Philippines . They usually target boys between 14 and 17 , but anyone can become a victim . The FBI has noticed an increase in financially motivated sextortion cases involving minors , so they ' re urging victims to keep any evidence and get help as soon as possible . Hey , don ' t delete any messages , even if they ' re embarrassing . We ' re here to support and help victims of sextortion , connecting them with the resources they need to recover . These crimes can really mess people up and have even led to suicide . Between October 2021 and March 2023 , the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations received over 13 , 000 reports of minors being financially extorted online . About 12 , 600 victims , mostly boys , were involved , and tragically , it resulted in at least 20 suicides . If you or someone you know is a victim of sextortion , report it to the police right away . You can call 1 - 800 - CALL - FBI or visit tips . fbi . gov to report it to the FBI . Check out fbi . gov/sextortion and fbi . gov/financialsextortion for more info on sextortion and financial sextortion . The FBI recently warned about a new online threat targeting minors and young adults: financially motivated sextortion . Sextortion is when adults pressure kids and teens into sending explicit images online . The FBI has plenty of resources to help parents and young people understand what sextortion is , how to protect against it , and how to talk about this awful threat .
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