With the recent uptick in online exploitation of children and teens across the nation, multiple agencies are encouraging parents to talk to their children about the dangers of online safety.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, in partnership with Homeland Security Investigations – Philadelphia, the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Pittsburgh, and the National Center for Missing and Exploiting Children, are alerting parents about a recent spike in “sextortion.” This act is defined as individuals, mainly children, who are threatened or blackmailed by someone online demanding sexual content or money.
Sextortion schemes are common in online environments, such as social media websites, gaming platforms, or video chat applications that “feel familiar and safe.” One common way of sextortion is predators acting as a female – often between 14 and 17 years old – and targeting minor male victims.
Those victims are reported as young as 10 years old, according to the HSI.
Parents and guardians are urged to talk to their children about the risk of sextortion as soon as possible. If a child falls victim to this act, parents can call the HSI’s toll-free tipline at 1-866-347-2423 or completing an online form.
Additional steps for parents and children can be found below:
From the HSI, FBI, and NCMEC:
WHAT IF YOU OR YOUR CHILD IS A VICTIM?
HSI and the FBI encourage the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious
activity. You can contact HSI through its toll-free tip line at 1-866-347-2423 or by completing its
online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock. From outside the United States and Canada,
callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users may call TTY 802-872-6196.
Contact your local FBI field office (in Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia at 412-432-4000),
call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or report it online at tips.fbi.gov.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has outlined steps parents and young
people can take if they or their child are a victim of sextortion, including:
• Remember, the predator is to blame, not your child or you.
• Get help before deciding whether to pay money or otherwise comply with the predator. Cooperating or paying rarely stops the blackmail and continued harassment.
• REPORT the predator’s account via the platform’s safety feature.
• BLOCK the predator and DO NOT DELETE the profile or messages because that can be
helpful to law enforcement in identifying and stopping them.
• Let NCMEC help get explicit images of you off the internet.
• Visit org/IsYourExplicitContentOutThere to learn how to notify companies yourself or
visit cybertipline.org to report to us for help with the process.
• Ask for help. This can be a very complex problem and may require help from adults or law
enforcement.
• If a victim does not feel that they have adults in their corner, the child can reach out directly
to NCMEC for support at gethelp@ncmec.org or call NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST.
Comments