ABC24 spoke with Randy Hutchinson from the Better Business Bureau of the Mid-South (BBB) about what parents and kids need to know about the scams.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued an alert about an increase in extortion scams, also known as sextortion, often involving young boys.
Be aware: sextortion can start on any site, app, or game – anywhere people communicate online. More often it begins when children believe they are communicating with someone their own age. The schemer will use threats, gifts, money, flattery, lies, or other ways to get a child to send them a sexually explicit image.
A 17-year-old boy in San Jose, California, committed suicide in February hours after someone pretending to be a girl online convinced him to send an explicit picture, then demanding $5,000 not to post it. Investigators said he paid $150, but killed himself as the scammer demanded more.
Investigators said a 17-year old Michigan boy committed suicide in March after falling victim to the scam. They said he met someone posing as a young girl on Twitter, and ended up sharing an explicit photo. They said the boy paid the crooks $300 to prevent its release, but then killed himself when they demanded more money. Investigators said only six hours passed from when they boy first got the initial message to his suicide.
Meanwhile, a Florida man was sentenced to 105 years in prison after convincing hundreds of teenage girls to engage in sexual activity online and threatening to share the images unless they sent more.
Find more important information from the FBI HERE.
Click Here For Original Source.
Recently, SEC Chair Gary Gensler issued fresh warnings about cryptocurrencies amid Bitcoin's surge to a…
Pay Dirt is Slate’s money advice column. Have a question? Send it to Athena here. (It’s anonymous!) Dear…
By Virma Simonette & Kelly Ngin Manila and Singapore14 March 2024Image source, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime…
Technology has disrupted many aspects of traditional life. When you are sitting at dinner and…
Reports of suicides, missing bodies, sexual kompromat and emptied bank accounts as fake sangomas con…
A South African woman has been left with her head in her hands after she…