Almost 40 teenagers in the US have tragically died as a result of a shocking 'sextortion' scam, as warnings have been issued to parents.
According to new reports, the cybercrime involves organized gangs targeting teenagers in the US by posing as their peers to coerce them into sending explicit photos which are then used for blackmail.
Since 2021, 38 teenage boys have died by suicide after falling victim to the scam, a top cybercrimes investigator told The New York Post.
According to Paul Raffile, who was involved in many of the investigations, there are two main gangs operating the horrifying scam - Nigeria's Yahoo Boys whose main driving force appears to be profit, as well as the 764 gang based in the US and Europe who are allegedly "sexual sadists".
He told the outlet: "These criminals can add 100 kids [per] Instagram account and hope that 30 accept the friend request and hope that 10 actually engage with them. So it’s really a numbers game."
Worryingly, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said in May that it was receiving almost 100 reports a day concerning financial sextortion and that the number of reports they'd received had tripled between 2022 and 2024, totaling around 33,000 a year.
The youngest victims interviewed by the FBI have been just eight years old, and children are targeted regardless of gender and socio-economic status.
According to Raffile, the gangs "bomb" American teenagers by using fake accounts on Instagram and Snapchat to make them believe someone around their age is flirting with them before convincing them to send explicit photographs.
They they demand money from them, first as a single payment and then keep asking them for more, while threatening to release the images they have been sent.
Payments are requested via Cash App or untraceable methods such as gift cards, with Raffile noting the introduction of teen accounts on Cash App in 2021 caused a spike in the scam, though the payment platform itself has yet to comment.
A spokesperson for Instagram’s parent company, Meta, told the outlet that they have been working alongside law enforcement to try and stop the scammers, adding that they "have spent years understanding how [criminals] operate so we can develop the right protections."
Arrests for those running these heinous scams have been rare, with Raffile estimating that only three or four of those operating in Nigeria have been caught.
In 2023, two Nigerian brothers — Samuel and Samson Ogoshi, 22 and 20 — were extradited to the US to face punishment for their role in running the sextortion ring which was conntected to the suicide of Jordan DeMay, who was 17. They were sentenced to 17 years in prison.
Jonathan Kassi, 25, from California, was handed an 18-month sentence for his role as a money mule for scammers in the Ivory Coast whose actions caused the 2022 suicide of 17-year-old Ryan Last, who'd been targeted.
West Virginia honor roll student Bryce Tate, 15, became the latest victim to take his own life on November 6, just three hours after scammers had contacted him pretending to be a local 17-year-old girl, according to law enforcement and family members.
After Tate's story hit the headlines, a bill was introduced on Tuesday to make sextortion a federal crime.
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who is one of the bill's sponsors, told The New York Post: "When these offenders are eventually caught by law enforcement, whether here or abroad, our nation’s prosecutors struggle to appropriately charge them, as there are currently no federal laws that explicitly address sextortion.
"My commonsense, bipartisan ‘Stop Sextortion Act’ would federally criminalize sextortion and ensure these heinous criminals are finally brought to justice."
Law enforcement and cybercrimes experts have also urged parents to educate their teenagers about the dangers they could face online as well as to make sure any social media accounts they do have are set to private and that they do not accept requests from people they do not know.
The FBI says that any teen who finds themselves engaged with a scammer should immediately stop communication and alert their parents and law enforcement.
Raffile adds: "We need awareness campaigns directed at this. If you know how a scam works, you’re far less likely to fall for it.
"And what’s happening in these financial sex extortion cases, it is the same red flags. It is the same scripted messages. It’s the same crime over and over and over again. It’s entirely predictable."
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org.