Parents often help prepare their children for the various risks and dangers in life. Now, online security experts say caregivers need to urgently add another threat to that list: sextortion.
This problem is not new. Bad actors have long pressured teenagers to send them sexually explicit images and then used them to blackmail them. But online security experts say evolving tactics and tools, such as deepfake software, are making it easier to ruthlessly hunt down teen sextortionists.
Many victims committed suicide after being targeted for financial extortion by criminals from organized crime groups from Nigeria or Côte d’Ivoire. Victims who thought they were talking to another teenager were put under relentless pressure to pay the scammers or else have the explicit photos made public.
Melissa Stroebel, vice president of research and insights at Thorn, a nonprofit that develops technology to protect children from sexual abuse, urged parents to often have frank conversations with their children about how to treat children online. stay safe. This should include discussing sextortion in an age-appropriate manner.
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Unfortunately, Strobel and other cybersecurity experts say parents can’t rely solely on platforms to protect their children from sextortion. The truth is, there are no guaranteed strategies for avoiding becoming the target of sextortion.
Even if a teen encounters a predator or scammer but refuses to send explicit images of themselves, perpetrators can steal photos from their social media accounts and create explicit deepfake photos of their victims, then threaten to send them to everyone they know . But Strobel said there are ways to reduce the risk of sextortion and protect yourself if it occurs.
“These are difficult conversations to start… they feel a little uncomfortable for a number of different reasons,” Strobel said. “The reality is, we have to have these conversations before this moment comes.”
Strobel said the discussion should be non-judgmental and focus on red flags rather than unrealistic expectations for children’s online behavior. In addition, they should help young people know what to do if they are being blackmailed and feel confident telling their parents or another trusted adult.
How to talk to your kids about sextortion
It’s not easy for parents to imagine their children taking an explicit photo of themselves and then showing it to strangers online. But Strobel wants parents to understand that while it’s important to have an honest discussion about the risks of sharing nude photos, many teens still do it even if they’ve been warned more than once.
Thorne’s research shows that young people online are also suspicious of unknown users, especially if they can see that an account is associated with friends or peers. In their view, so-called strangers can quickly become friends if they have common interests and online connections. In other words, teaching them about “strange dangers” may feel unrealistic or irrelevant.
Strobel said bad actors and predators may use fake accounts of teenage users to help build trust among their victims. They exploit young people’s openness and curiosity through flirtatious comments and direct messaging. Before long, the bad guys are sending supposedly explicit photos or videos of themselves and asking for one in exchange, or just for one.
Parents should not use shame to prevent their children from participating in online conversations or image sharing. Instead, they should suspend judgment while explaining the risks of trusting anyone online.
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Strobel added that the ongoing discussion about sextortion should teach children that “even if they do something we might tell them not to do, they believe the best option is to come to us rather than try to Handle these incidents yourself”.
How common is sextortion?
In an effort to stop sextortion scams, Meta recently announced the removal of 63,000 Instagram accounts in Nigeria that were attempting to financially extort victims. These scams are highly coordinated and rely in part on thousands of deleted Facebook assets, such as accounts, pages, and groups, which sell scripts and guides on how to deceive people by populating fake accounts with photo collections.
But international crime syndicates are not the only ones manipulating and deceiving young people online. Sex offenders and predators whose primary interest is collecting and distributing child sexual abuse material also extort young people. Sextortion threats can also come from people the victim knows, including acquaintances, lovers and exes.
A 2018 survey of middle and high school students estimated that 5% of respondents had experienced sextortion before reaching adulthood. Today that number is likely higher. In 2023, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received nearly 27,000 reports of financial sextortion, more than double the number in 2022.
While sexual extortion has historically affected girls and young women, boys and young men are increasingly being targeted for financial extortion, according to a recent report by Thorn.
How to deal with sextortion
Strobel said parents should help their children develop plans to anticipate and respond to sextortion attempts.
First, if they have been talking to an online contact they have never met in person, they should not believe they are a true “friend of a friend” just because they appear to be in contact online. Instead, they should talk to people they know in real life to learn more about their new contacts’ contact details and how long their friends have known them. If the trusted contact has not actually met the person, the account is likely fraudulent or malicious.
Strobel noted that asking to speak directly to an individual via phone or video call is also not a reliable way to verify their identity. Bad actors are increasingly using a variety of technological tools to hide their true identities, she said.
Jared Barnhart, head of the customer experience team at digital research firm Cellebrite, advises young users to take a “zero trust” approach to encounters that feel uncomfortable or make young people uncomfortable. In this case, do not have further contact with this person.
Parents should help their children understand that if they are blackmailed, the perpetrator may have a script designed to scare them. This could include threats to have the images go viral, appear in the news, or even ruin a child’s life.
Strobel said these interactions are designed to be high-pressure and never give children time to stop, ask for help or consider alternative solutions.
That’s why they need to create an exit strategy checklist in advance, she adds. If a similar situation occurs, in addition to telling a trusted adult immediately, you can also include reporting the sextortion to the platform where the sextortion occurred; blocking and/or reporting the individual; and contacting hotlines such as 1-800-THELOST for sextortion assistance. Thorn outlines these and other key steps on its website.
Barnhart said that while teens may want to delete conversations and images, it’s important to preserve all content for law enforcement investigation. Digital files can contain information that identifies the perpetrators or details about them.
Barnhart recommends reporting sextortion to NCMEC’s CyberTipline and local law enforcement. While authorities’ response depends on their resources and training, Barnhart said some local agencies are ready to investigate sextortion cases.
While some parents may believe that the threat of sextortion is minimal compared to everyday risks like driving, they should still prepare their children for the possibility.
“[Bad actors] “They can spend their entire workday searching for your child online,” Barnhart said. “They just have to select your child…and now your child is the victim. There’s no easy way to avoid that.” it.
If you are a child who has been sexually exploited online, or you know a child who has been sexually exploited online, or you have witnessed a child being sexually exploited online, you can report it to CyberTiplineoperated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Or ask for help directly [email protected] Or 1-800-The-Lost. Users located outside the United States, please use InHope hotline directory Find your local hotline.
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