The FBI is warning of an “explosion” in financial extortion schemes targeting Chicago teens and boys with the threat of sharing their nude and compromising photos.
Similar “sextortion” crimes have skyrocketed exponentially across the country, the agency said in a Friday news release. But they’ve soared even faster in Chicago.
Sextortion complaints rose 539% in the city from 2021 to 2022, then another 383% from 2022 to 2023, the FBI said. And that’s not even every case.
“Many victims feel shame and do not file reports. Actual sextortion case numbers could be much higher,” the agency wrote.
The spike comes with a general change in sextortion crimes, the agency said. Typically, criminals targeted young women and girls in an effort to obtain sexual content, but the new goal is to obtain money, the news release warned.
The targeted victims are boys typically between 10 and 17 years old, but the schemes have targeted victims as young as 7, the agency said.
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It often starts with a stranger reaching out online through a game or an app. Despite often being located in another country, they impersonate attractive women and act like they’re the same age as their target, the agency said.
Sometimes they’ll suggest the target chat with them on another messaging platform, before finally asking for “nude or compromising” photos and videos.
When the content is shared, the stranger will demand the victim pay them under the threat of releasing the compromising material, the agency said.
“Financial sextortion can cause severe emotional distress and can lead to depression or suicide in children,” the agency said.
The FBI encouraged the parents of targeted children to block the predator, but not delete their messages so law enforcement can use them if needed later. Parents should talk with trusted adults or authorities before sending any money, the agency added, and cooperating rarely stops the blackmail and harassment.
“Remember, the predator is to blame, not your child or you,” the agency wrote. “Tell them they are not in trouble, they are not alone, and there is life after pictures.”
