The Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued a public warning about increased financial sextortion schemes aimed at children. Minors under 18 have been targeted online via gaming systems, apps, and social media.
According to North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein’s office, perpetrators have been reaching out to an influx of boys, ages 14 to 17. The criminals act as friends or someone in the same age range and then “pressure the victim into sending explicit content or images of themselves and then blackmail the victim into paying them money or threatening to release the images,” a press release noted.
Law enforcement received more than 7,000 reports about young people being victims of financial sextortion, the AG’s office released. Holiday breaks may add to the peak, as children are often online more frequently and thus should require parental oversight.
The following tips are suggested:
- Continue a conversation with your children. Talk to your children about safe internet use and guidelines for healthy behavior. You can download our office’s family tech safety agreement as a guide here.
- Monitor your child’s social media use and make sure they know not to communicate with people whose identities you have not verified. Consider enabling parental controls on social media apps or installing third-party apps that allow greater control and monitoring for dangerous content.
- Never send explicit photos, videos, or other content via text or through the internet.
- Be mindful of what you post. Sextortion scammers may gather personal information from public posts and use that information to target victims.
- Keep an eye on your children’s behavior. Look out for changes in behavior that indicate your child is increasingly anxious or under stress. Ask for help from law enforcement or medical professionals if you need it.
- Speak up. If someone contacts you or your child and demands money in exchange for not releasing your photos or videos, contact your local FBI field office at 1-800-CALL-FBI or report it online at tips.fbi.gov.
The AG suggests reporting all financial scams at ncdoj.gov/file-a-complaint or by calling 1-877-5-NO-SCAM.
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