Teenage boys in the United Kingdom are being blackmailed by way of Nigerian crime gangs that pose as younger ladies on-line – with the Nationwide Crime Company providing recommendation on what sufferers must do.
NCA officers mentioned boys as younger as 14 had been focused with “sextortion” scams on social networks together with Snapchat and Instagram.
Criminals trick them into sending sexual photographs – after which threaten to percentage the images with their circle of relatives, buddies and faculty except they pay about £100.
Whilst maximum sufferers of kid sexual exploitation are feminine, the NCA mentioned 90% of on-line sextortion sufferers are boys elderly 14 to 17.
In some circumstances, the ones affected have taken their very own lives out of concern the pictures will likely be shared.
Marie Smith, a senior supervisor on the NCA’s kid exploitation and on-line coverage command, referred to as the abuse “extraordinarily worrying”.
As a part of an NCA consciousness marketing campaign, she prompt sufferers: “Don’t pay – keep calm. We will be able to lend a hand. For those who pay as soon as, they are going to simply call for extra.”
Symbol: Consistent with the NCA, boys as younger as 14 are focused by way of scammers on-line. Pic: iStock
Sextortion ‘unimaginably merciless’
Lots of the offences are dedicated by way of other folks from West African nations, together with Nigeria and the Ivory Coast.
“Not anything is off the playing cards and we are hoping to carry those criminals responsible,” Ms Smith mentioned.
NCA director of danger management Alex Murray mentioned: “Sextortion is unimaginably merciless and will have devastating penalties for sufferers.
“This marketing campaign will lend a hand empower younger boys, giving them the data to identify the hazards posed by way of this crime kind and tips on how to document it.
“It helps them to needless to say if it does occur, it’s by no means their fault. It is going to additionally take the merit clear of the criminals accountable, whose simplest motivation is monetary achieve.
“Unfortunately, youngsters in the United Kingdom and around the globe have taken their very own lives as a result of ‘sextortion’, which has been a significant factor in the back of launching this marketing campaign.”
Learn extra:
Investigation beneath manner after lady, 8, focused in sextortion plot
How oldsters and teens can take on ‘sextortion’
Ultimate yr by myself, the NCA’s CEOP protection centre won 380 sextortion reviews. Within the first 5 months of 2024, UK police forces recorded a mean of 117 per thirty days reviews involving under-18s.
And in america, the Nationwide Centre for Lacking and Exploited Kids won greater than 28,000 sextortion reviews globally in 2024 – up from 26,718 the former yr.
