US authorities raised the alarm Monday over what they call an “explosion” of cases of children being forced to pay after being pressured to send sexual images, a phenomenon known as “sextortion.”
According to the US federal police, the FBI, law enforcement agencies in the United States last year identified more than 7,000 cases of “sextortion” involving young children and adolescents, for a total of 3,000 victims. Most of the cases involve children, more than a dozen of whom have committed suicide, the FBI said.
Victims from 10 to 17 years old
The agency says the majority of sextortion operations come from outside the United States, mainly from Nigeria and the Ivory Coast. They usually start in chat rooms and online gaming sites, with people using fake female identities.
Victims are persuaded to send sexual images of themselves, before being threatened with the publication of these photos if a sum of money is not paid, according to the FBI.
The young people they target are generally between the ages of 14 and 17, but police have interviewed victims as young as 10.
“The shame, fear, and confusion that victims feel when trapped often prevents them from seeking help,” the FBI said.
The need for prevention
Federal police encourage parents to educate their children about the existence of this threat.
“The FBI has seen a frightening rise in financial sextortion cases targeting underage children, and the fact is that most victims who are afraid to come forward are not even included in those numbers,” the director said in a statement from the FBI. FBI. Christopher Wray.
“Victims may think there is no way out,” he said. “It is up to all of us to reassure them that they will stay out of trouble, that there is hope and that they are not alone.”
Source: BFM TV
