Sextortion, of the crimes that emerge in the digital age 1:49
(CNN) --
At least 3,000 minors, mostly boys, have been targeted in financial
sextortion
schemes this year.
This is a dramatic increase from previous years, the US Department of Justice announced Monday in a public safety alert.
Through social media, predators usually begin to communicate their targets before moving the conversation to another platform where they primarily use direct messages, according to the Justice Department.
Thus, they trick victims into providing them with explicit material, and then demand money, sometimes thousands of dollars, and threaten to deliver the images to the victim's family and friends.
“The FBI has seen a horrific increase in reports of financial
sextortion
schemes targeting underage children, and the fact is that many of the victims who are afraid to report are not even included in those numbers,” said FBI Director, Christopher Wray, in a statement.
At least a dozen victims have died by suicide as a result of these crimes, according to the department.
A 17-year-old boy committed suicide hours after being scammed.
FBI says it's part of a worrying rise in 'sextortion' cases
The
sextortion
schemes , primarily targeting children ages 14 to 17 — though there are also 10-year-olds — emerged largely in West African countries, including Nigeria and the Ivory Coast, according to the department.
It is not clear if these cells of perpetrators are connected.
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Wray said the FBI needs "parents and caregivers to work with us to prevent this crime before it happens and help kids report it if it does happen."
“Victims may feel that there is no way out;
it is up to all of us to reassure them that they are not in trouble, that there is hope and that they are not alone,” said the director.
sextortion
