As of May 14th 2023, we have now assisted 175 teens, 170 identified as teen boys, 5 identified as teen girls, all under the age of 18yrs, with the youngest being 12yrs old – all were targeted for sextortion.
The modus operandi of those who commit this online crime is fairly consistent, and something that we speak to in-depth in this article (1). However, there is one key element that we wish to bring to your attention.
In every case, except for three, the survivor of this online crime has had a screen shot of their friends list on Instagram sent to them as a part of the pretext of the sextortion. The person doing the sextortion will send a screen shot of their target’s Instagram friends list to their target and then advise them that if they don’t pay the ransom requested, then they will send the intimate image/video they covertly recorded to everyone on their friend’s list. The attached picture was one that was actually sent to a teen that we worked with.
This aspect of the pretext is designed to exert immense psychological pressure on the teenager to comply with the demands. The threat is clear – if the target doesn’t pay up, their nude image will be shared with their friends and family members via Instagram.
Please ensure that your child privatizes their Instagram account – let’s not provide these sextortionists with one of the essential psychological elements they use to their advantage to commit this crime!
To make your child’s Instagram account private:
- Open Instagram
- Tap on your profile picture in the bottom right
- Tap the three horizontal lines (known as a hamburger button) in the upper right corner
- Tap on “Settings”
- Tap on “Privacy”
- Turn toggle on next to “Private Account”
The White Hatter
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