The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in New Mexico is cautioning parents and children about the significant increase in sextortion reports for 2022.
Los Alamos Reporter stated that from the first day of January to yesterday, December 19, 2022, the National Threat Operations Center (NTOC) of the FBI has already received 168 e-tips or calls about possible New Mexico sextortion cases, a significant increase from the 38 e-tips and calls received during the same period in 2021.
Some of the tips and calls can possibly reference the same incidents, but the FBI expressed that the steep increase is serious enough that it wants to bring the crime to the public's attention, especially since children are having their school and holiday break, and are expected to spend more time online.
Financial sextortion
The FBI and partner organizations are not only warning parents and caregivers about sextortion but also encouraging them to talk with their children about financial sextortion schemes to prevent them from happening in the first place.
In partnership with Homeland Security Investigations and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), the FBI is issuing a safety alert for the national public with regards to "an explosion in sextortion incidents," where children and teens are threatened to send explicit images online and blackmailed for money.
Over the past year, the authority has received more than 7,000 reports on online financial sextortion cases of minors. This led to at least 3,000 victims, mostly boys, and more than a dozen suicide cases.
"Few crimes are as damaging and traumatic to a young person as sextortion. Victims may feel embarrassed and be reluctant to come forward. They and their parents or guardians need to know it's not their fault. The only way we are going to catch these perpetrators and keep them from harming others is for their victims to contact us," Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge, declared as quoted by Deming Headlight.
A large percentage of these sextortion schemes originate outside of America, primarily in West African countries like Nigeria and Ivory Coast.
Sextortion can lead to suicide
Last Thursday, California police arrested Jonathan Kassi, 25, a suspect in an alleged financial sextortion online scam that led to the suicide death of 17-year-old Rayan Last (not his real name) in February.
San Jose police stated that Kassi is currently in Northern California, where he faces a case against "extortion and attempted disorderly conduct - posting of a photograph or recording without consent."
According to CNN, the authorities narrated that Kassi sent Ryan a "romantic picture" of a young girl and asked him to provide an intimate photo as well. Immediately after the teen shared his private photo, the cybercriminal demanded $5,000, threatening to make the photo public and send it to his family and friends if he could not provide the funds.
Hours later, "a panicked Ryan took his own life," the police stated.
The teen's mother expressed that she is "truly disgusted" with the people who can do that kind of crime to kids. She is grateful for the job that the authorities had done on her son's case.
Further, she concluded that parents and children need to be educated so that the fight against sextortion scams can continue.
Related Article: Parents Warned 'Sextortion' Threats Among Teens Are on the Rise
