WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI sounded the alarm Monday about an explosive increase in teenage boys being targeted online and extorted for money after being tricked into sending sexually explicit pictures.
At least 3,000 children, mostly teenage boys, have been victims of the schemes that are connected to more than a dozen suicides this year, a scale that U.S. authorities have not seen before, Justice Department officials said. Many think they are chatting online with kids around their own age but are quickly manipulated into sending explicit pictures and then blackmailed for money with threats to release the images, the FBI said.
Most victims are between 14 and 17, but kids as young as 10 have been targeted.
The FBI said it was issuing the national public safety alert now since kids may be spending more time online as schools close for winter break.
There’s been a staggering tenfold increase in reports since last year, and there are likely more victims who never came forward, FBI officials said. Embarrassment and shame can prevent them from asking for help.