The FBI's San Francisco office is warning the public against the growing threat of "sextortion" targeting minors, with suspects coercing them into creating and sending sexually explicit images or videos online.
Victims are usually males between the ages of 14 to 17, the FBI said in a statement Tuesday.
Some youth fall victim to financially motivated sextortion in which perpetrators coerce them to create and send sexually explicit material. The offenders then threaten to release that material unless they receive payment through gift cards, mobile payment services, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency.
Suspects of financially motivated sextortion are usually located outside the U.S. and primarily in African countries such as Nigeria and Ivory Coast, or in Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines, the FBI said.
Sextortion has led some victims to self-harm and even suicide.
"From October 2021 to March 2023, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations received over 13,000 reports of online financial sextortion of minors. The sextortion involved at least 12,600 victims -- primarily boys -- and led to at least 20 suicides," according to the FBI.
From October 2022 to March 2023, the FBI saw at least a 20% rise in cases of financially motivated sextortion involving minor victims compared to the same period the previous year.
"We've seen an alarming increase in financial sextortion schemes targeting children not only in the Bay Area, but across the country. Parents, educators, and caregivers need to be aware of this increasingly urgent threat and empower victims to come forward" FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Tripp said in a statement.
Those who believe that they are a victim of sextortion or financially motivated sextortion are urged to report the activity to law enforcement or the FBI by calling (800) CALL-FBI or visiting tips.fbi.gov.
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