Warning from the FBI: Sextortion Cases on the Rise
As sextortion scams continue to increase, criminals from Nigeria are targeting adult men in the United States, according to Meta, a social media giant. The company recently removed approximately 63,000 accounts from Nigeria that were attempting to carry out financial sextortion scams. In these scams, criminals impersonate someone else, often an attractive woman, to trick victims into sending explicit photos. The scammers then use these photos to blackmail the victims, threatening to make them public unless payment is made.
Meta’s Campaign Against Sextortion
Meta’s efforts to combat sextortion included removing 200 Facebook pages and 5,700 Facebook groups from Nigeria that were providing tips and scripts for carrying out these scams. Additionally, these groups contained links to photo albums that scammers could use to create fake accounts for catfishing victims. Meta is also testing new technologies, such as an auto-blur feature in Instagram DMs that detects nudity and blurs images to protect users from falling victim to sextortion.
The Impact of Sextortion Scams
A recent study by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and Thorn revealed that the most common platforms for sextortion scams are Meta’s Instagram and Snapchat feeds. These scams predominantly originate in Nigeria or Côte d’Ivoire, and while they primarily target adult males in the United States, some scammers also target teenagers. The FBI has highlighted the issue of financial sex blackmail scams targeting teens, with tragic consequences such as at least 20 child victims committing suicide.
The emotional toll on victims is significant, as they often feel scared, embarrassed, and worried about the long-term consequences. Social media users are advised to be cautious when engaging with accounts that have stylized or overly attractive photos, particularly if the account reaches out to them out of the blue. It’s essential to be wary of requests for images or personal information from unfamiliar accounts and to review message privacy settings to protect oneself from potential scams.
