Online ‘sextortion’ against children growing, feds urge back-to-school awareness
Source: Washington Post
September 19 at 4:00 PM
Federal officials and advocates say online sex-related extortion against children is growing, and they are urging educators and parents to help raise awareness at back-to-school events.
They say they see a rise in so-called sextortion, which often involves adults posing as someone younger on social media to get minors to send them inappropriate photos or video. Offenders typically threaten to post the images they obtain or send them to others unless they are sent more explicit images.
Its not uncommon, said Michelle DeLaune, chief operating officer at the nonprofit National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, based in Alexandria. Its something that we see every day and its something thats concerning because it can inflict a tremendous amount of damage on a child.
DeLaunes organization and the U.S. Department of Justice recently released a public service announcement showing a teenage girl blackmailed into providing explicit images by an older offender who pretends to be someone she knows.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/online-sextortion-against-children-growing-feds-urge-back-to-school-awareness/2016/09/19/395a6cbe-7b5b-11e6-beac-57a4a412e93a_story.html
underpants
(182,632 posts)Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
George the Retiree
(50 posts)And the entertainment media is largely responsible, with spectacularly-misnomered "social" media aiding and abetting. (Call me an old prude if you like!)
Lulu KC
(2,561 posts)DeLaune added another bit of advice: We encourage adults to create an environment where a child would feel comfortable coming to them if they find themselves in a situation where they feel uncomfortable or afraid.
They are afraid they will lose their electronics. They cannot live without them. It's easier for them to live on the edge than to not have the phone for a day.
Egnever
(21,506 posts)Is an idiot.
It is far to easy for those sorts of photos to spread these days. Sextortion or not.