Our young people today face challenges that most of us would never have dreamed of.
It’s safe to say that many of us don’t understand entirely what they are going through. That doesn’t get us off the hook, however, when it comes to trying to keep them healthy and safe, particularly if we are parents or caregivers.
I was reminded of this when I came across a press release from the FBI’s Chicago office about an increase in “sextortion” schemes that are targeting teen boys.
Apparently, the FBI has been getting reports of adults who are posing as young girls who are trying to coerce young boys through social media to produce sexual images and videos and then extorting money from them.
This just underscores to me how depraved some individuals in our society are, and how important it is to get the word out so that parents or other responsible adults can discuss with children the real possibility of this happening to them.
The FBI describes how a sextortion scheme works. First, an adult contacts a minor on an online platform used to meet and communicate, such as a game, app or social media account.
Then the predator poses as a young girl and uses deception and manipulation to persuade the boy, usually 14 to 17 years old, to engage in explicit activity over video, which is then secretly recorded by the predator. The predator then tells the boy that there is a recording and tries to extort the boy for money to prevent the recording from being posted online.
Our boys need to understand that sextortion is a crime. The FBI reminds us that coercion of a child by an adult to produce what is considered Child Sexual Material can result in up to life sentences for those convicted of the crime.
To stop these schemes, children usually must tell someone, be it a parent, teacher caregiver or someone in law enforcement.
An obvious reason why a boy might not feel able to do that is embarrassment about the activity they were forced to engage in. That’s in part why the FBI says that there may be hundreds of victims around the world. Brave victims can help prevent other teens from being victimized.
The FBI offers these tips to protect our children (and us adults) online:
- Be selective about what you share online, especially your personal information and passwords. If your social media accounts are open to everyone, a predator may be able to figure out a lot of information about you or your children.
- Be wary of anyone you encounter for the first time online. Block or ignore messages from strangers.
- Be aware that people can pretend to be anything or anyone online. Videos and photos are not proof that a person is who they claim to be.
- Be suspicious if you meet someone on a game or app and they ask you to start talking to them on a different platform.
- Encourage your children to report suspicious behavior to a trusted adult.
If you think you or someone you know is a victim of sextortion, the FBI says to do this:
- Contact your local FBI field office (www.fbi.gov), the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (www.ic3.gov) or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (1-800-the-lost or cybertipline.org).
- Do not delete anything before law enforcement is able to review it.
- Tell law enforcement everything about the encounters you had online; it may be embarrassing, but it is necessary to find the predator.
Clearly, this is something to make our teen boys aware of. No doubt, the girls need to know about it, too. If they are aware of it, they might not be as quick to fall for it.
How important it is to keep the lines of communication open with our teens, so that they can feel free to come to us with any problem, but especially when they feel trapped or victimized.
Joan Oliver is the former Northwest Herald assistant news editor. She has been associated with the Northwest Herald since 1990. She can be reached at jolivercolumn@gmail.com.
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