What is sextortion, what are the signs and how to prevent it?
30.04.2024 - 14:33
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Teachers up and down the country have been alerted following a worrying rise in young people being targeted by blackmailers. The warning by the National Crime Agency came after the number of global 'sextortion' cases doubled in 2023.
Figures released by the US National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) showed, 26,718 instances of sextortion compared to 10,731 in 2022.
All age groups and genders are being targeted, but a large proportion of cases have involved male victims aged between 14-18. According to reports, 91% of victims in UK sextortion cases dealt with by the Internet Watch Foundation in 2023 were male.
READ MORE: Kersal Dale murder investigation victim, 67, is named and pictured after human remains found
These crimes can be perpetrated by organised crime groups based overseas, predominantly in some West African countries, but some are also known to be located in South East Asia. They are motivated by making money quickly, rather than by sexual gratification, and in some cases have gone from initial contact to blackmailing their victim in under an hour.
The unnerving numbers prompted the National Crime Agency to send an unprecedented alert to educational professionals in a bid to raise awareness and provide an avenue for pupils to reach out for help.
Sextortion is a type of blackmail that occurs when people are forced to pay money or meet another financial demand by an offender who threatens to leak naked or semi-nude photos of the victims.
The images can be real photos taken by the victim or fake images created with the use of AI. The National Crime Agency's alert was sent out to hundreds of teachers across the UK on Monday (April 29).
The message detailed highlighted signs of abuse,