Predators are motivated either by a desire to obtain explicit images of children, or they are financially motivated, Special Agent Eric Slaton, supervisor of the FBI Boston Division’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, explained to NBC News.
In either case, the criminals obtain sexually explicit images of children by hacking their phones or convincing them to send photos including their faces by pretending to be just another kid in the next town over. Once they’ve procured the images, they threaten to release the images to family, friends, and/or the general public unless the child complies with certain demands. If the kids don’t pay, the predators may threaten to harm them, their family members, or their loved ones.
“We prosecute a lot of individuals who are, you know, 50-, 60-year-old men pretending to be teenage girls or teenage boys that engage with minor victims as romantic interests,” Slaton told NBC. Unfortunately, in the majority of cases, the schemes originate overseas (mainly Nigeria, India, and the Ivory Coast), and it’s hard to prosecute them.
Teenage Boys Are Particularly Vulnerable
The horrifying reality is that anyone online, who is active on social media or online gaming platforms, is at risk of sextortion — victims come from every background and every demographic, according to the FBI. However, most often, the victims of sextortion are boys between the ages of 14 and 17.
“The FBI has seen a horrific increase in reports of financial sextortion schemes targeting minor boys — and the fact is that the many victims who are afraid to come forward are not even included in those numbers,” according to FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Authorities have identified victims as young as 10 years old.
Boys are easier to coerce into sending explicit photos than girls, and coupled with the impulsive teenage brain, it makes them very vulnerable to sextortion. Predators will often pretend to be attractive girls of the same age and develop relationships with the boys on gaming sites and other social media apps where teenagers may feel the most comfortable and safe.
According to a June 2024 report compiled by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and anti-child sexual abuse technology company Thorn, which analyzed the sextortion cases reported to NCMEC between 2020-2023, reports of sextortion increased dramatically after 2022 — up to more than 800 reports a week in the past year. A staggering 90% of reported financial sextortion cases involved male victims aged 14 to 17.
According to a June 2024 report compiled by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and anti-child sexual abuse technology company Thorn, which analyzed the sextortion cases reported to NCMEC between 2020-2023, reports of sextortion increased dramatically after 2022 — up to more than 800 reports a week in the past year. A staggering 90% of reported financial sextortion cases involved male victims aged 14 to 17.
The primary platforms for offenders to initiate contact with victims were Instagram and Snapchat. Instagram was the platform mentioned in 45.1% of reports where the initial contact was identified, followed by Snapchat at 31.6%. Instagram emerged as the platform of choice for both threats and distribution of intimate imagery. Among reports where threats were made, 81.3% involved threats to spread the material on Instagram. When it came to actual dissemination, 60% of reports indicated Instagram was used. While threats also frequently involved YouTube, Facebook, and Snapchat, Facebook was the runner-up for actual dissemination, appearing in 33.7% of such reports.
Often a sextortion scheme unravels within a few days, or even a few hours, according to Donald Asper, a supervisory special agent with FBI Philadelphia: “It’s not just a single actor. You’re looking at organizations, you’re looking at people where this is their sole source of income.”
Often a sextortion scheme unravels within a few days, or even a few hours, according to Donald Asper, a supervisory special agent with FBI Philadelphia: “It’s not just a single actor. You’re looking at organizations, you’re looking at people where this is their sole source of income.”
In one tragic case which ended in suicide, the victim received a message around midnight from someone posing as a teenage girl and took his life less than two hours later.
Overwhelmingly, the victims of sextortion feel shame and embarrassment, and it’s this shame and embarrassment that keeps them from telling their parents. Likewise, teenagers who don’t understand that they are the victims may be worried that they’ve broken a law.
In many cases, even when the victim complies with the predator’s request, the predator will still release the images or continue to harass the victim.
“Victims may feel like there is no way out,” notes Wray.
The FBI has received reports of more than a dozen suicides by victims of sextortion.