Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
Experts have offered an explanation about the crime of 'sextortion' and how to recognize it, with the warning coming just weeks before a teen boy was died after connecting with a 'girl' online.
Caleb Moore, from Kansas, was just 14 years old when he was found at his home on 10 June, with first responders sadly unable to resuscitate him.
The day after his death, police showed Caleb's family messages they had found on his phone which showed that he had connected with someone online who he believed to be a 14-year-old girl.
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The 'girl' allegedly sent compromising photos of herself to Caleb, before asking him to send some of himself in return.
Caleb obliged, but things took a turn when the 'girl' allegedly began to threaten Caleb, demanding he pay a large amount of money or warning they would leak his photos.
"[Police] showed me the progression," Caleb's mom, Morgan, said. "It had stolen my boy's happiness and hope in a 35-minute span.
"They made him feel like his life was over as he had made this mistake," she added.
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What is 'sextortion'?
The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) issued what it described as an 'urgent warning' about so-called 'sextortion' schemes earlier this year, after the number of global sextortion cases reported to the US National Center for Missing & Exploited Children increased by more than double in 2023, rising from 10,731 to 26,718.
The NCA has explained that this extortion is a type of online blackmail which involves people being forced into paying money or carrying out some other financial demand under the threat of nude or semi-nude photos of them being released.
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The photos could either be taken by the victim, or they could be fake photos created by the extortionist.
How does sextortion happen?
According to the NCA, sextortion against young people can play out as follows:
- Being contacted by an online account that appears to belong to another young person
- A quick development into sexually explicit communications, which may involve the offender sharing an explicit image
- The victim may feel manipulated or pressured into taking nude or semi-nude photos or videos of themselves
Rather than sending photos themselves, victims may also be told they have been hacked and that the offender has access to their images - even if this isn't really the case.
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At this point, the victim can be blackmailed into sending money or meeting another financial demand under the threat of the images being shared.
What have experts said about sextortion?
James Babbage, Director General for Threats at the National Crime Agency, described sextortion as a 'callous' crime and urged educators and parents to be vigilant of it.
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“Sextortion causes immeasurable stress and anguish, and we know there are adults and young people who have devastatingly taken their own lives as a result," Babbage said.
“A lot of victims feel responsible but we need them to know this is absolutely not the case; you are not to blame and help and support is available. As well as raising awareness with this alert, we want to encourage young people to report incidents to an adult they trust, the police or to the CEOP Safety Centre.”
The NCA has also advised parents whose children may be a victim of extortion to block the contact, but avoid deleting any evidence such as messages or phone numbers.
Victims are also encouraged to report the crime to the police.
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Caleb remembered as 'the most loved kid'
Morgan expressed hope that her son's death would 'have as much meaning as his life did, which was a lot'.
"He is very, very missed and very loved," she said.
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The mom is hoping Caleb's story will encourage other children to speak out if they feel in danger online, saying: "Caleb was a pretty popular kid, really funny and goofy and made people laugh a lot.
"He was mild-mannered so got along with everybody. He loves sports and played football, basketball and was really good at wrestling.
"I don't know how to stress enough to children to tell someone your parents about it or another trusted adult. You just have to tell someone because they purposely make it seem like they have so much more power than they do."
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help support Caleb's family, which you can donate to here.
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If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 to reach a 24-hour crisis center or you can webchat at 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
Topics: Crime, Kansas, Mental Health, US News, Technology
Emily Brown