Updated March 2025   CAVEAT – As the reader has probably guessed, the term “sextortion” is a neologism that combines the words “sex” and “extortion”. The term “sextortion” was first coined and used by the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ) in 2009. They introduced it to describe a form of corruption where individuals in positions of power, such as officials, educators, or employers, demand sexual favors in exchange for something within their control. This chapter aims to help parents, caregivers, educators, and others understand the who, what, where, when, how, and why behind the world’s largest multinational blackmail scheme, commonly referred to as “sextortion.” Sextortion Typology It is so important that youth and teens, no matter what their sexual orientation or gender identity, and their parents become more aware of the pretexts, tactics, and strategies being used specifically to the clear and present threat of online sextortion. As Sun Tzu, a wise and ancient Chinese warrior once stated, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” Sexting and sextortion was a topic of our discussions with students back in 2012, as highlighted in this article: https://www.oakbaynews.com/news/sexting-puts-youth-at-risk-victoria-bullying-expert-443507. However, during that period, some individuals in the internet safety community dismissed our concerns as “fear-mongering.” How times have changed those beliefs! It has been our experience that there are two groups of sextortionists when it comes to youth and teens: Sextortion is committed by someone who the intended target knows, loves, or trusts. Nudes are shared in an intimate relationship and are later posted after the relationship ends as a revenge weapon utilized for peer embarrassment, to demand sexual favors while still in a relationship, or as a threat to be published if a partner is considering leaving a relationship. and, Sextortion is committed by someone the youth or teen does not know and has just met online – someone who we like to call the “capper”, which is short for capturing.  Yes, the Capper can be an individual located in Canada or the USA, however,  it has been our experience that the capper is often associated with a Machalvanian organized online crime group located in countries such as Russia, India, the Philippines, Somalia, Nigeria, or the Ivory Coast of Africa to name a few.   We have also identified four sextortion coercion typologies utilized by these two groups:   #1 – Coercion for Images Extorter demands more intimate images in exchange to keep intimate images private Gratification Power Value (see Coercion for Value)   #2 – Coercion for Value Sometime called “financial sextortion” but can involve more than just money. Extorter demands something of value in exchange to keep intimate images private Bitcoin In-game items Money transfer (CashApp, Venmo, & other cash apps) Gift cards Trade   #3 – Coercion for other Demands Extorter demands some other items to behaviour in exchange to keep intimate images private Reputation smearing Relationship control   #4 – Coercion for ideologically motivated violent extremism (newest) Gender-driven violence: violence motivated by hatred of those with a different gender or sexual orientation, to further manipulate and control victims to produce more harmful and violent content as part of their ideological objectives and radicalization pathway. https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/news/2024/rcmp-reminds-canadians-violent-online-groups-targeting-youth    *Note*   A subcategory of sextortion used by cappers involves email sextortion campaigns, such as the recent “Pegasus Scam Email.”       In this form of sextortion, the offender sends out mass, boilerplate emails designed to scare the recipients. The email typically asserts that the malware allowed remote access to the recipient’s webcam and microphone, allegedly capturing intimate acts while visiting adult sites. The scammer then demands money in exchange for not releasing the supposed video to the recipient’s social media contacts. To make the threat appear credible, the email includes the recipient’s email address and a previously used password that was leaked publicly in some form of a data breach that the recipient was not aware of.  Now, the latest version of this type of sextortion includes a screenshot of the recipient’s home or workplace, captured from platforms like Google Maps, that is attached to the email as part of the scare tactic. This makes the threat of publishing alleged pictures or videos even more intimidating and believable. Despite being entirely fake, these scams often work because of the convincing nature of the pretext and the commonality of online adult content consumption. If you receive such an email, do not respond, click any links, or engage in any way. Simply delete the email and block the sender. In this chapter, we are going to be concentrating primarily on the second group – the capper and the catfish sextortion scam specific to “financial and image-based sextortion”! From January 2020 to Feb 2025 we have helped 329 teens, all under the age of 18yrs (the youngest was 12yrs), 316 who identified as male, and 12 who identified as female, who were targeted online by a sexualized troll (Capper) and extorted for money or more pictures. Of interest, in all of the cases where a male was targeted the Capper wanted money; in the 6 cases involving a teen girl, the Capper only wanted more pictures or video. In a recent US court filing investigators estimated that one organized crime group in Nigeria has made over 2 million dollars via sextortion crimes https://www.plainsite.org/dockets/download.html?id=316285928&z=fc5f7939  In most cases, the sextortion began in under thirty minutes of initial first contact with a targeted youth.  Sextortion by someone the youth or child does not know, love, or trust is a real threat and one that we need to speak to our kids about!  “Yes”, teen girls can and are being targeted for sextortion online by someone who they don’t know, love, or trust. However, over the past several years, there is an abundance of evidence to show that teen boys have become the bigger target – why? Compared to teen boys, good academic peer-reviewed research shows that teen girls are significantly less likely to … Continue reading Sextortion