“Sextortion,” Non-Physical Sex Exploitation, Is Booming.
Financial sexual extortion, sextortion for short, is a fast-spreading wave of non-physical exploitation that targets mostly boys 14-17 on platforms like Pornhub (MindGeek), Roblox, and Discord. Sophisticated recruiters posing as kids trick targets into sending recruiters explicitly sexual photos and video footage known as CSAM, child sexual abuse material.
The first compromising photos are likely obtained by convincing targets that they’re chatting with a flirty girl or boy who has uncannily similar interests and backgrounds. The romantic interest sends a provocative selfie, then urges the prey to reciprocate.
The FBI says predators spring the trap as soon as the first explicit photos are captured, suddenly revealing their identity and threatening to expose the images unless there is financial payoff. OR, in lieu of money (what kid has that kind of money?) the target is coerced to send more sexually explicit images.
Teens, distraught over the possibility of their explicit photos being shared, have turned to self-destructive behavior and even suicide. Between October 2021 and March 2023, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security received over 13,000 reports of financial sextortion of a minor involving nearly that entire number (12,600) of kids under 18. During this short time, 20 suicides were attributed to sextortion.7
