The FBI is warning parents and caregivers about an increase of incidents involving sextortion of young children.
The FBI received an increasing number of reports of adults posing as young girls coercing young boys through social media to produce sexual images and videos and then extorting money from them. Reports of this have been received by the FBI Omaha Field Office. There are other types of sextortion taking place as well.
It begins when an adult contacts a minor online to meet and communicate. Many times it through a game, app, or a social media account. One prevalent scheme is the predator is posing as a young girl and uses deception and manipulation to convince a young males to engage in explicit activity over video. The victims are usually 14 to 17 years old and that activity is secretly recorded. The predator then reveals they have the video and they attempt to extort money or they will be exposed online.
Sextortion is a crime. The coercion of a child by an adult to produce what is considered Child Sexual Abuse Material carries heavy penalties, which can include up to life sentences for the offender.
Many times a child won’t come forward out of embarrassment. On some occasions the victim tells a parent, teacher, caregiver, or law enforcement to get the sextortion to stop. Coming forward helps law enforcement identify the offender and may prevent other incidents. These offenders may have hundreds of victims around the world.