The alarming rise of sextortion targeting Australian teenage boys is larger than ever, and this latest case is no different. This Australian mother, bravely sharing her 17-year-old son’s traumatic experience on Channel 9’s A Current Affair, hopes to raise awareness and protect others from similar ordeals.
A Deceptive Interaction
The ordeal began with what seemed like a harmless online interaction. Her teenage son received a friendly message from someone posing as a girl. Engaging in conversation, he was eventually manipulated into sending explicit photos, believing he was chatting with a peer. This is a common tactic used by scammers who exploit the trusting nature of teens to gain compromising material.
The Threat Emerges
Once the scammer obtained the photos, the tone of the interaction changed dramatically. They threatened to share the explicit images with the boy’s friends, family, and across social media unless he paid a significant sum of money. This sudden shift left the teenager in a state of panic and fear, unsure of how to proceed.
She noticed he was taking a phone call down the side of the house, something very unusual for her son, and notice he came back in very rattled. She noticed he was frantically texting, and her instincts kicked in. She became worried about his mood and behaviour.
She sat him down and said they needed to talk, pushing him to tell her what was going on. The last thing she expected him to say was that he was being blackmailed.
A Family in Turmoil
Overwhelmed, the teenager confided in his mother, who experienced a mix of shock, anger, and helplessness. Despite her own emotional turmoil, she became a pillar of support for her son, urging him not to succumb to the demands and to block the scammer immediately. They reported the incident to the police, but the emotional damage had already been done.
He revealed the conversation started out friendly and flattering from someone who appeared to be a teenage girl. Then the ‘girl’ he was talking to asked to see a picture of his face, and she called him handsome.
She asked him to send a ‘naughty’ pic, which he sent. Then she asked for a naughty pic with his face.
Again, he sent it and immediately the tone of the messages changed, and they were demanding he pay them $700
“I thought that he knew well enough, we’d had the conversation many times, ‘Never send pictures, never send nudes’,” she said. “But, you know, you can watch them, but you can’t protect them from everything.”
He had sent them a $100 Facebook voucher but had nothing more to give them.
His worried mum took him to the police station where they filed a report before the Australian Federal Police called to reassure them the scammers are uninterested in sharing the pictures, they’re purely after the money.
Psychological Impact
The psychological toll on the teenager was immense. He struggled with stress, anxiety, and the constant fear of social repercussions if the photos were leaked. This incident had a profound impact on his mental health, affecting his confidence and trust in online interactions. Such experiences can leave lasting scars, emphasising the importance of addressing these threats seriously.
A Mother’s Plea
She urges parents to have open conversations with their children about online safety. This includes discussing the risks of sharing personal information and explicit content, even with seemingly trustworthy individuals.
Australian Federal Police On The Case
Helen Schneider, the Australian Federal Police’s commander for human exploitation, said these offshore gangs most often target teenage boys.
“The majority of victims, in fact over 90 percent, are male and they’re aged between that 13 to 17-year-old bracket,” she said.
She went on to describe the MO of these scammers.
It typically starts with an unsolicited friend request from a profile of the opposite sex, and of similar age. The conversation very quickly becomes sexualised before the request for nudes, with the face of their victim in it. And then the threats and requests for money to start.
The AFP has been working with the Nigerian authorities to apprehend the culprits since a sixteen-year-old NSW boy took his life after being threatened by the same scheme.
Social media platforms play a crucial role in the proliferation of such scams. It is imperative for these companies to implement stronger security measures and more effective monitoring systems to detect and prevent malicious activities. Additionally, law enforcement agencies must continue refining their strategies to combat sextortion and bring perpetrators to justice.
Educating Teens
Education is the most powerful tool against sextortion. Schools, community organizations, and online platforms must collaborate to create comprehensive educational programs. These programs should inform teenagers about the risks of online interactions, teach them how to recognize potential scams, protect their personal information, and encourage them to seek help if they fall victim to such schemes.
This sextortion case serves as a stark reminder of the dangers present in the digital world. The courage of the young victim and his mother in sharing their story cannot be overstated. It is a call to action for parents, educators, social media platforms, and law enforcement to work together in creating a safer online environment for our children
Sextortion attacks on the rise
Previously, young Ballarat teenager Rohan Cosgriff, a seventeen-year-old student fell prey to the same scheme.
These scammers have victims worldwide, and although arrests have been made, young boys are still falling prey to this.
Schneider implores parents to be compassionate, and receptive if their children come to them with something as serious as this.
“If your child comes forward, and wants to tell you something like this, you can imagine, it’s probably quite embarrassing, and it’s quite difficult,” she said. “And you can imagine, they’ve already been subjected to fear and shaming as part of the offending.”
The AFP receive roughly 300 reports of sextortion every month but, only about 1 in 10 victims.
Police advise victims not to pay scammers.
Personal story: Recently, the son of a friend confided in me that he had been contacted by a similar threat. They weren’t asking for a lot of money, but he wasn’t able to pay them. When she asked me what he should do, I told her to tell him to go to the police because it was extortion, and illegal.
I asked her how he was doing, and she said he was fine. He blocked them. No one who knows him has said they’ve seen any of the images, so he’s assumed they didn’t send them out. But after writing about these scams and the deaths they have caused, I am sometimes haunted by how bad the situation could have turned out.
As this mum says, “If your kids are vulnerable, you keep an eye on them.”
