MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis FBI Field Office has a warning for parents and guardians about sextortion targeting young boys.
The FBI said it has seen an increase in West and Middle Tennessee in reports of adults posing as younger girls coercing young boys to send them sexual images and videos through social media, then extorting money from the victims.
The FBI said it starts when the adult contacts a youngster online on social media, through apps, or even while gaming. Agents said the predator will pose as a young girl to convince the boys, usually ages 14 to 17, to send them into performing sexually explicit acts on video calls, which the adult will secretly record. Then the scammer will reveal the recordings and extort money from the victim, threatening to release the videos online.
The FBI said many children feel embarrassed and don’t want to come forward, but doing so could help identify the predator who may have hundreds of other victims around the world.
"Sexual predators can victimize children or teens in their own homes through the devices they use for gaming, homework, and communicating with friends,” said Special Agent in Charge Douglas Korneski of the FBI Memphis Field Office. “We want parents and caregivers to talk with their children about schemes like this as education is key to stopping these individuals.”
Sextortion of a child can lead to heavy sentences, including life in prison for the offender.
The FBI said in 2021, its Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 18,000 sextortion -related complaints, with more than $13,6 million lost by victims.
Here are some things the FBI says can be done to protect children online:
- Be selective about what you share online, especially your personal information and passwords. If your social media accounts are open to everyone, a predator may be able to figure out a lot of information about you or your children.
- Be wary of anyone you encounter for the first time online. Block or ignore messages from strangers.
- Be aware that people can pretend to be anything or anyone online. Videos and photos are not proof that a person is who they claim to be.
- Be suspicious if you meet someone on a game or app and they ask you to start talking to them on a different platform.
- Encourage your children to report suspicious behavior to a trusted adult.
What to do if a person is a victim of sextortion:
- Contact the local FBI field office (contact information can be found at www.fbi.gov), the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at www.ic3.gov, or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (1-800-the-lost or Cybertipline.org).
- Do not delete anything before law enforcement is able to review it.
- Tell law enforcement everything about the encounters you had online; it may be embarrassing, but it is necessary to find the offender.
More information about sextortion can be found at: https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/stopsextortion-youth-face-risk-online-090319.
