The FBI is warning parents, caregivers, and teens about increased sextortion crimes across the country. We will show you how to talk to your children about this and keep them safe online.

FBI field offices are warning parents about increasing reports of adults posing as young girls coercing teenage boys through social media to produce sexual images and videos, then extorting money from the minor victims. This online scam has been going on for a long time, but it seems like there has been an uptick in activity this year. I usually get one or two calls every other month from a parent asking for guidance when they find out their child is a victim of sextortion.

In May 2022, I received six calls from frantic parents. Five were male victims and one female. All of the stories were incredibly similar. The victim, usually a male, 14 to 17 years old, receives an unsolicited message from a male adult posing as an attractive female on a social media platform like Instagram or Snapchat. Over days or weeks, the predator uses deception and manipulation to convince the victim to engage in sexually explicit activity over video or send them a nude image. Once the predator has received the photo or recording, they will attempt to extort a victim for money. A mother who called me for advice said she knew something was wrong when her 19-year-old son ran out of the house weeping. She confronted him, and he confessed he had shared a nude image with someone online, and now they wanted $1000. He tried to borrow the money from friends, but he only had been able to raise $70. In a recent tragic case, Ryan Stuart, a 17-year-old straight-A student and Boy Scout committed suicide hours after being scammed in a sextortion case. The scammer demanded $5000, threatening to make the photo public and send it to Ryan’s family and friends.