FBI warns families of sextortion, a growing threat targeting teen boys in Philadelphia
PHILADLEPHIA (CBS) — Sextortion is on the rise in the Philadelphia area, and the FBI wants minors and families to be aware of the crime.
Sextortion is when someone online poses as a young person, convinces a real teenager to send them explicit photos and then once they have the photos, the scammer blackmails the young person for money. The threats become so intense, the FBI says sextortion has led to at least 20 suicides nationwide.
According to the FBI, the connection between criminals and teens can start anywhere young people communicate online, including a messaging platform, app or video game. Step one for the scammer is getting a sexually explicit picture from a teenager.
"That reciprocity. I'll show you if you show me. Sometimes they have photos from other victims that they then use to entice that child, almost a catfishing kind of scam," Alexis Krieger, a victims specialist with FBI Philadelphia, said.
The crime has become more common in the last few years. According to FBI statistics, there were 14 reports of sextortion in 2021 in the Philadelphia region. In 2022, that number jumped to 110, and in 2023, there were 130 reports.
Sometimes the scammer will continue to ask for more and more pictures, but more often, sextortion is about financial gain, not necessarily just sexual gratification.
Once the scammer has a picture, they flip the switch on the young person, demanding money or gift cards in exchange for not sending it to people on their contact lists, their classmates or parents.
FBI agents say the more money scammers get, the more intense the threats become, and they've connected 20 suicides to sextortion scams nationwide, including Gavin Guffey, a South Carolina teenager who was getting ready to start college.
"It's not just a single actor, you're looking at organizations, you're looking at people that this is their sole source of income," said Donald Asper, a Supervisory Special Agent with FBI Philadelphia. "Often they're overseas, so this makes it harder to track down."
The FBI wants parents and caregivers to be aware of this scam and know that there are resources available to minors and families who might be caught up in a sextortion scam.
"We need the parents to interact with the children and identify that this is sextortion, this could potentially be a bad actor," Asper said.
Victims specialists with the FBI can partner with The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to use a tool that combats child sexual exploitation and helps kids remove their sexually explicit images from the internet.
How to Get Help
If young people are being exploited, they are the victim of a crime and should report it. Contact your local FBI field office, call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or report it online at tips.fbi.gov.
The FBI also has staff dedicated to assisting victims of crime. Learn more about our Victim Services Division and know your rights if you are the victim of sextortion and your images have been posted online.
If you or someone you know needs support now, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. CBS News Philadelphia also has a list of mental health resources.